Umbrello Linette S, Newton Hayley, Baker Andrew M, Travouillon Kenny J, Westerman Michael
School of Biology and Environmental Science Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Queensland Australia.
Collections and Research Western Australian Museum Welshpool Western Australia Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Aug 27;14(8):e70215. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70215. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Global biodiversity loss continues unabated, and in Australia, the rate of recent mammal extinctions is among the worst in the world. Meanwhile, the diversity among and within many endemic mammal species remains undescribed. This information is crucial to delineate species boundaries and thus inform decision-making for conservation. (the red-cheeked dunnart) is a small, dasyurid marsupial found in four disjunct populations around the northern coast of Australia and New Guinea. There are three currently recognized subspecies, each occupying a distinct geographic location. occurs in Queensland, is distributed across New Guinea and the Aru Islands, and has populations in the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Previous molecular work has suggested the current subspecies definitions are not aligned with DNA sequence data, though the sampling was limited. We undertook a comprehensive genetic and morphological review of to clarify relationships within the species. This included mitochondrial (CR, 12S, and cytb) and nuclear (omega-globin, IRBP, and bfib7) loci, and morphometric analysis of skulls and whole wet-preserved specimens held in museums. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses resolved samples into two distinct clades, demarcated by the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia's north. was consistently separated from and , based on the overall body and skull size and craniodental features, while and were more difficult to distinguish from each other. Thus, we redescribed , recognizing two species, (raised from subspecies) and (now comprising the subspecies and ). This study highlights the importance of recognizing cryptic mammal fauna to help address the gap in our knowledge about diagnosing diversity during a time of conservation crisis.
全球生物多样性丧失仍在有增无减地持续，在澳大利亚，近期哺乳动物的灭绝速度位居世界最严重之列。与此同时，许多特有哺乳动物物种之间以及物种内部的多样性仍未得到描述。这些信息对于划定物种界限从而为保护决策提供依据至关重要。赤颊袋鼬是一种小型的袋鼬科有袋动物，分布于澳大利亚北部海岸和新几内亚周围四个不连续的区域。目前有三个被认可的亚种，每个亚种占据一个独特的地理位置。指名亚种分布在昆士兰州，新几内亚亚种分布于新几内亚和阿鲁群岛，而北领地亚种在北领地顶端地区和西澳大利亚的金伯利地区均有种群。先前的分子研究表明，当前的亚种定义与DNA序列数据不一致，尽管采样有限。我们对赤颊袋鼬进行了全面的遗传和形态学研究，以厘清该物种内部的关系。这包括线粒体（控制区、12S和细胞色素b）和核基因座（ω - 珠蛋白、视黄醇结合蛋白和bfib7），以及对博物馆保存的头骨和完整湿标本进行形态测量分析。最大似然法和贝叶斯系统发育分析将样本解析为两个不同的分支，以澳大利亚北部的卡奔塔利亚湾为界。基于整体身体和头骨大小以及颅齿特征，指名亚种始终与新几内亚亚种和北领地亚种区分开来，而新几内亚亚种和北领地亚种则更难相互区分。因此，我们重新描述了赤颊袋鼬，确认有两个物种，即新几内亚袋鼬（从亚种提升为物种）和赤颊袋鼬（现包含北领地亚种和指名亚种）。这项研究凸显了识别隐秘哺乳动物群落在保护危机时期帮助填补我们在诊断生物多样性知识方面空白的重要性。
