So there’s Really Seven Species of Spotted Skunks Instead of Four, Now What? скачать в хорошем качестве

So there’s Really Seven Species of Spotted Skunks Instead of Four, Now What?

So there’s Really Seven Species of Spotted Skunks Instead of Four, Now What? Adam W. Ferguson1,*, Molly M. McDonough1,2, Robert C. Dowler3, Matthew E. Gompper4, Jesús E. Maldonado5 1Gantz Family Collection Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605. 2Department of Biological Sciences, Chicago State University, Chicago, IL 60628. 3Department of Biology, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX 76909. 4Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003. 5Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013. Corresponding and presenting author – [email protected] Historically, anywhere from 2 to 14 species of spotted skunks (Spilogale) have been recognized, with the latest consensus identifying four distinct species: S. angustifrons, S. gracilis, S. putorius, and S. pygmaea. For this study, we analyzed species limits and diversification patterns in spotted skunks using multilocus nuclear (ultraconserved elements) and mitochondrial (whole mitogenomes and single gene analysis) DNA using 203 samples representing all species and subspecies of Spilogale. We found a high degree of genetic divergence among Spilogale that reflects seven distinct species and eight unique mitochondrial lineages. Our data supported splitting S. gracilis sensu stricto into two species, S. gracilis and S. leucoparia¸ and S. putorius sensu stricto into three species, S. interrupta, S. putorius, S. yucatanensis. This presentation discusses the consequences of this revised taxonomy in light of conservation and management of spotted skunks.