A new species of Akodon Meyen, 1833 (Rodentia: Cricetidae) from dry forests of the Amazonia-Cerrado transition

Autor(es)

Brandao, Marcus Vinicius ; Carmignotto, Ana Paula ; Percequillo, Alexandre Reis ; Christoff, Alexandre Uarth ; Mendes-Oliveira, Ana Cristina ; Geise, Lena

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Zootaxa; v. 5205, n. 5, p. 35-pg., 2022-11-10.

Resumo

Akodon is the most diverse genus of the tribe Akodontini, comprising 41 extant species. Although distributed in a wide range of environments in South America, the genus was long considered to be absent from Amazon Forest. Nonetheless, in recent decades, records of Akodon have been reported based on specimens from southern Amazonia, throughout the contact zone with Cerrado. Published data about the unique karyotype (2n=10), along with evidence of sister phylogenetic relationship (Cytb sequences) with Akodon cursor, a species from the Atlantic Forest, suggest that these specimens represent an undescribed species. Herein we hypothesize that these samples represent a new species of Akodon from Amazonia-Cerrado transitional areas. Through the analyses of 217 specimens from Mato Grosso and Para states, Brazil, as well as 336 specimens of Akodon cursor species group from the Atlantic Forest, we provide qualitative and quantitative external and craniodental data that support their distinction in comparison with other congeners. The sister relationship between this new species and A. cursor provide additional evidence of a past connection between the two largest tropical forests of South America. Moreover, the recognition of Akodon n. sp. points to the presence of the genus in the AmazoniaCerrado transition, an area currently under great anthropic pressure, highlighting the fact that we might be losing a portion of Brazilian biodiversity before even getting to know it. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 00/06642-4 - Pequenos mamíferos terrestres do bioma Cerrado: padrões faunísticos locais e regionais
• Beneficiário: Ana Paula Carmignotto
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 19/05374-2 - Taxonomia e sistemática de espécies da tribo Akodontini (Rodentia: Cricetidae) do Oeste do Brasil
• Beneficiário: Marcus Vinicius Brandão de Oliveira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 09/16009-1 - Sistemática, evolução e diversificação da subfamília Sigmodontinae na América do Sul: a tribo Oryzomyini
• Beneficiário: Alexandre Reis Percequillo
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 16/20055-2 - Sistemática e biogeografia da Tribo Oryzomyini (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) na América do Sul
• Beneficiário: Alexandre Reis Percequillo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Pesquisa