Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Fritz, U., Branch, W. R., Hofmeyr, M. D., Maran, J., Prokop, H., & Schleicher, A., et al. (2011). Molecular phylogeny of african hinged and helmeted terrapins (testudines: pelomedusidae: pelusios and pelomedusa). Zoologica Scripta, 40(2), 115–125.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (27 Mar 2011 16:16:36 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00464.x BibTeX citation key: Fritz2011 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Pelomedusidae, Pelusios, Pelusios castaneus, Pelusios castanoides, Pelusios chapini, Pelusios rhodesianus, Pelusios seychellensis, Pelusios sinuatus, Pelusios williamsi, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Systematik = taxonomy Creators: Branch, Fritz, Hofmeyr, Hundsdörfer, Maran, Prokop, Schleicher, Široký, Stuckas, Vargas-Ramírez, Vences Collection: Zoologica Scripta |
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| Abstract |
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With 18 currently recognised species, Pelusios is one of the most speciose chelonian genera worldwide, even though the taxonomy of some species is contentious. Recent investigations suggested that the closely related, but morphologically distinct genus Pelomedusa is paraphyletic with respect to Pelusios, and that Pelomedusa consists of nine deeply divergent lineages. Using three mitochondrial and three nuclear DNA fragments (2054 bp mtDNA, 2025 bp nDNA), we examined for the first time the phylogeny of Pelusios by molecular means. Our analyses included all Pelusios species, except the probably extinct P. seychellensis, as well as the nine Pelomedusa lineages. The results showed that Pelusios and Pelomedusa are reciprocally monophyletic. Limited sampling of Pelusios species and homoplasy introduced by remote outgroups most likely explain the paraphyly of Pelomedusa in previous studies. The distinctiveness of most Pelusios species was confirmed, but none of the currently recognised species groups within Pelusios was monophyletic. In Pelusios rhodesianus and P. sinuatus distinct genetic lineages were discovered, suggestive of cryptic taxa. In contrast, the recognition of the weakly differentiated P. castaneus and P. chapini as full species is doubtful, as is the validity of the Malagasy and Seychellois subspecies of P. castanoides. GenBank sequences of P. williamsi were nested within P. castaneus, but the morphological distinctiveness of the two species makes it likely that the GenBank sequences (derived from a turtle from the pet trade) are misidentified. Divergence among the distinct genetic lineages of Pelomedusa equals or exceeds the differences among Pelusios species, supporting the view that Pelomedusa is a species complex.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |