Genetic evidence for allopatric speciation of the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica in India
Montane systems, formed by a series of climatic oscillations and temporal topographic metamorphoses, have broken up the contiguous distribution of widespread species and accelerated allopatric speciation. We used a partial fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene to address speciation...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Inter-Research
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Endangered Species Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v42/p1-5/ |
| Summary: | Montane systems, formed by a series of climatic oscillations and temporal topographic metamorphoses, have broken up the contiguous distribution of widespread species and accelerated allopatric speciation. We used a partial fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene to address speciation across the entire range of the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica. We demonstrated that the Siberian ibex is a polytypic species, plausibly formed by a combination of at least 2 species and/or 3 to 4 sub-species. Bayesian phylogeny showed that the Indian-Tajikistan (I-T) clade is adequately diverged from the other clades based on the mean intra-specific distance criterion, and warrants recognition as a distinct species. We provide pragmatic evidence for the endorsement of the I-T clade as a distinct species of Siberian ibex and urge prioritization of the conservation of this species at global and regional scales. |
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| ISSN: | 1863-5407 1613-4796 |