Phylogeny of Eurasian Soricine Shrews (Insectivora, Mammalia) Inferred from the Mitochondrial CytochromebGene Sequences

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Abstract
Phylogenetic relationships among 31 operational taxonomic units of shrews (Soricidae, Mammalia), mainly from eastern Eurasia, were inferred from partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene by maximum likelihood (ML) and neighbor joining (NJ) methods, Eleven monophyletic groups were recognized among the soricine shrews examined in the ML tree. However, branching orders of the groups were obscure judging from the local bootstrap values, and two out of the 11 groups were not monophyletic in the NJ tree. The phylogenetic relationships among Sorex caecutiens, S. shinto, and S. sadonis in the Japanese and Sakhalin islands, whose taxonomy was controversial, were clarified. S. shinto in the Honshu and Shikoku Islands is genetically differentiated enough to be considered a separate species from S. caecutiens, while S. sadonis could be treated as a subspecies of S. shinto. Some other taxonomic problems are also discussed