Extensive Phylogenomic Discordance and the Complex Evolutionary History of the Neotropical Cat Genus Leopardus.

ABSTRACT: Even in the genomics era, the phylogeny of Neotropical small felids comprised in the genus Leopardus remains contentious. We used whole-genome resequencing data to construct a time-calibrated consensus phylogeny of this group, quantify phylogenomic discordance, test for interspecies introgression, and assess patterns of genetic diversity and demographic history. We infer that the Leopardus radiation started in the Early Pliocene as an initial speciation burst, followed by another in its subgenus Oncifelis during the Early Pleistocene. Our findings challenge the long-held notion that ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and margay (L. wiedii) are sister species and instead indicate that margay is most closely related to the enigmatic Andean cat (L. jacobita), whose whole-genome data are reported her

SUBMITTER: Lescroart J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10701098 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature