Chevret P, Denys C, Jaeger J J, Michaux J, Catzeflis F M
Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université Montpellier II, France.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Apr 15;90(8):3433-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.8.3433.
Spiny mice of the genus Acomys traditionally have been classified as members of the Murinae, a subfamily of rodents that also includes rats and mice with which spiny mice share a complex set of morphological characters, including a unique molar pattern. The origin and evolution of this molar pattern, documented by many fossils from Southern Asia, support the hypothesis of the monophyly of Acomys and all other Murinae. This view has been challenged by immunological studies that have suggested that Acomys is as distantly related to mice (Mus) as are other subfamilies (e.g., hamsters: Cricetinae) of the muroid rodents. We present molecular evidence derived from DNA.DNA hybridization data that indicate that the spiny mouse Acomys and two African genera of Murinae, Uranomys and Lophuromys, constitute a monophyletic clade, a view that was recently suggested on the basis of dental characters. However, our DNA.DNA hybridization data also indicate that the spiny mice (Acomys) are more closely related to gerbils (Gerbillinae) than to the true mice and rats (Murinae) with which they have been classified. Because Acomys and the brush-furred mice Uranomys and Lophuromys share no derived morphological characters with the Gerbillinae, their murine morphology must have evolved by convergence, including the molar pattern previously considered to support the monophyly of the Murinae.
刺巢鼠属（Acomys）的刺鼠传统上被归类为鼠亚科（Murinae）的成员，鼠亚科是啮齿动物的一个亚科，还包括大鼠和小鼠，刺鼠与它们共有一系列复杂的形态特征，包括独特的臼齿模式。许多来自南亚的化石记录了这种臼齿模式的起源和演化，支持了刺巢鼠属和所有其他鼠亚科单系起源的假说。这一观点受到了免疫学研究的挑战，免疫学研究表明，刺巢鼠与小鼠（小家鼠属：Mus）的亲缘关系与鼠形啮齿动物的其他亚科（如仓鼠：仓鼠亚科：Cricetinae）一样遥远。我们提供了来自DNA-DNA杂交数据的分子证据，这些证据表明刺鼠Acomys以及鼠亚科的两个非洲属Uranomys和Lophuromys构成了一个单系类群，这一观点最近是基于牙齿特征提出的。然而，我们的DNA-DNA杂交数据也表明，刺鼠（Acomys）与沙鼠（沙鼠亚科：Gerbillinae）的亲缘关系比与它们被归类在一起的真小鼠和大鼠（鼠亚科：Murinae）更密切。由于Acomys以及刷毛鼠Uranomys和Lophuromys与沙鼠亚科没有共同的衍生形态特征，它们的鼠类形态一定是趋同演化而来的，包括之前被认为支持鼠亚科单系起源的臼齿模式。
