Systematics of species of the genus Akodon (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) in southeastern Brazil and implications for the biogeography of the Campos de Altitude.

Abstract

Faunal inventories of the highest peaks of the Atlantic forests of South America, in the Caparaó and Itatiaia mountain ranges in Southeastern Brazil, have revealed a new community of small mammals. The species making up this community appear to be restricted to the highest altitudinal zones and are found in close association with scattered montane grasslands (campos de altitude). Their phylogenetic relationships can provide insights into speciation in mountaintop communities of the Atlantic forest. In this paper we review the taxonomic identity and systematic relationships of Akodon mystax, a high- altitude endemic described from Caparaó. We demonstrate that populations from Itatiaia previously assigned to mystax are morphologically, cytogenetically and genetically distinct from that species and appear to represent a northern isolate of Akodon paranaensis, and that Akodon mystax is closely related to Akodon lindberghi from the Central Brazilian grasslands. Phylogenetic relationships among these populations demonstrate that differentiation of the mountaintop endemics of Caparaó and Itatiaia is not solely attributable the isolation of campos de altitude from southern grasslands of Brazil and Uruguay as grasslands retreated southward, phylogenetic analyses of some groups suggest connections between the campos de altitude and Central Brazil."