PHYLOGENETIC POSITIONS OF INSECTIVORA IN EUTHERIA INFERRED FROM MITOCHONDRIAL CYTOCHROME-C-OXIDASE SUBUNIT-II GENE

For the elucidation of the phylogenetic position of insectivora in eut heria, we have sequenced the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) ge ne of mitochondria for three insectivoran species [musk shrew (Suncus murinus), shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides), Japanese mole (Mogera wog ura)] and analyzed these amino acid sequences with neighbor-joining (N J) method and maximum likelihood (ML) method. NJ analysis shows polyph yly of Insectivora and Chiroptera. Assuming that each of Primates, Fer ungulata, Chiroptera, Insectivora and Rodentia is a monophyletic group , ML analysis suggests that Chiroptera is a sister group of Insectivor a and that Ferungulata is the closest outgroup to the (Insectivora and Chiroptera) clade.