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Genetic similarity between Akodon olivaceus and Akodon xanthorhinus (Rodentia: Muridae) in Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1999

Oliver P. Pearson
Affiliation:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, U.S.A.
Margaret F. Smith
Affiliation:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, U.S.A.
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Abstract

On an East–West transect in northern Patagonia, the steppe-inhabiting mouse Akodon (or Abrothrix) xanthorhinus meets the forest-inhabiting Akodon (Abrothrix) olivaceus on the eastern side of the Andes where steppe meets forest. In a contact zone of about 30 km, the mice are morphologically intermediate. Nuclear (allozyme) and mitochondrial DNA analyses confirm that the genetic difference between eastern, western, and intermediate populations is not much greater than would be expected within individuals from a single population. We conclude that xanthorhinus and olivaceus should be united under the species name olivaceus.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 The Zoological Society of London

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