Systematics and Acceleration of Cranial Evolution in Cerradomys (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) of Quaternary Sandy Plains in Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The genus Cerradomys, comprising eight species, is distributed mainly in transitional, dry, open and inland South American biomes like Caatinga, Cerrado, and Chaco. However, Cerradomys goytaca is restricted to very harsh ecosystems along the Quaternary coast sandy plains (restingas) of the Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo states, in southeastern Brazil. Cytochrome b and IRBP DNA data were used for elucidating the phylogenetic relationships of Cerradomys and estimating the time of divergence of different evolutionary lineages, while morphometric analyses were carried out for analyzing the rate of phenotypic evolution. Our findings showed that the first speciation events occurred in the Pliocene and early Pleistocene, leading to the C. marinhus, C. maracajuensis, and C. scotti distributed in central and western Brazil while species from eastern Brazil (C. langguthi, C. vivoi, C. subflavus, and C. goytaca) originated in the middle to late Pleistocene. Cerradomys goytaca populations diverged from inland C. subflavus ca. 0.29 MYBP with an accelerated rate of phenotypic evolution resulting in unique craniometric attributes, likely due to the strong selective pressures imposed by harsh habitats.