Molecular phylogeny of Myomys/Stenocephalemys complex and its relationships with related African genera

Partial 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene sequences were used to infer the phylog enetic relationships among Stenocephalemys albocaudata, S. griseicauda and Myomys albipes, three closely related Ethiopian endemic murines and a selec tion of related species (Myomys daltoni Praomys delectorum, Mastomys natale nsis, Hylomyscus kaimosae, and Colomys goslingi) from other African regions . The obtained phylogeny confirms the close relationship between M. albipes and the two Stenocephalemys species, but it also suggests that both the ge nera Myomys and Stenocephalemys are paraphyletic, as M. albipes is closer t o Stenocephalemys than to M. daltoni and S. griseicauda is more closely rel ated to M. albipes than to S. albocaudata. These data, if confirmed, would argue that M. albipes should be renamed S. albipes. In conclusion, our stud y suggests that morphological similarity is not always a reliable measure f or close genetic relationship in murines, Morphological similarity among sp ecies that evolved under similar ecological conditions can be the result of convergent evolution rather than a consequence of recent common ancestry. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.