The Sahara as a vicariant agent, and the role of Miocene climatic events, in the diversification of the mammalian order Macroscelidea (elephant shrews).

ABSTRACT: Although the Sahara is a major geographical feature of the African continent, its role in the diversification of animal species is not well understood. We present here a molecular phylogeny for members of the endemic African mammalian order Macroscelidea (elephant shrews) with molecular-clock calculations; this molecular phylogeny provides convincing evidence that the genus Elephantulus is diphyletic. Elephantulus rozeti, the only elephant shrew species that resides north of the Sahara, is the sister group of a species from a different genus (Petrodromus tetradactylus), which resides just south of the Sahara. The split between these taxa coincided with major Miocene climatic events, which triggered the cooling and aridification of midlatitude continental regions, and a shift in the Sahara

SUBMITTER: Douady CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC166228 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature