Mitogenomics of the jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi, Felidae, Carnivora): disagreement between morphological subspecies and molecular data

Publication date: Available online 16 September 2018Source: Mammalian BiologyAuthor(s): Manuel Ruiz-García, Myreya Pinedo-Castro, Joseph Mark ShostellAbstractWe analyzed 80 mitogenomes of the elusive jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi, Felidae, Carnivora), representing seven of the eight putative morphological subspecies traditionally described. The mitochondrial genetic diversity levels were very high in this cat species and therefore similar to other Neotropical cats. Nonetheless, the number of significantly different molecular clusters did not align well with putative morphological subspecies. We detected three possible molecular subspecies: P. y. yagouaroundi (wide distribution in Central and South America), P. y. melantho (Central Andean, and their inter-valleys, Peruvian area) and P. y. eyra (Paraguay and northern Argentina). There were also small geographical clusters with no correspondence with the morphological subspecies, especially in Costa Rica, northern and eastern Colombia, and Pacific trans-Andean Colombia and Ecuador. Thus, the number of molecular subspecies in jaguarundi could be less than the number defined morphologically. However, well-differentiated mitochondrial lineages could exist in the area of the putative P. y. panamensis and correspond to undescribed subspecies. The temporal split of the ancestors of the puma and jaguarundi and the initial mitochondrial diversification within the jaguarundi occurred during the late Pliocene, but the major fraction of h...

Source: Mammalian Biology - September 17, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research