The discovery of eight new mouse species! - page 2
When the gene flow stops…
The Lophuromys flavopunctatus THOMAS, 1888 s.l. species complex groups the so-called African ‘speckled brush-furred rats’, that occur from North-Eastern Angola through Southern Congo, Northern Mozambique, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Eastern Congo, Northern Congo, Uganda, Southern Kenya and Ethiopia. The Ethiopian species are separated geographically from the rest of the species complex by dry lowlands.
Until recently, twenty-three species of these ‘speckled brush-furred rats’ were known, but Erik Verheyen added eight new ones. Scientists suppose that the rather patchy distribution of these species is due to ‘allopatric speciation’. This happens when individuals of a species are isolated by an impassable barrier, and their descendants evolve into a new species. This phenomenon, for instance, occurs when neighbouring moist habitats get separated by dry intermediate areas. Since these mammals can only survive in moist habitats, gene flow among these isolated areas is either absent or very restricted.
Knowledge for conservation
Why are Eric and its fellow scientists studying these mammals and their distribution? Biodiversity is critically endangered in many parts of Eastern Africa, particularly in the Eastern Arc Mountains (in Tanzania, stretching into Malawi and Mozambique) and the Ethiopian Highlands. This is caused by climate change, and agricultural land expansion. The latter is vitally necessary, but needs to be done judiciously. Accurate research demonstrates that the mice living on nearby mountain slopes do not belong to the same species, and that they all play their role within a greater system. This region also harbours an endemic chameleon and even a little endemic monkey (endemic species are species that only exist in a certain area).
A better knowledge about the presence, whether abundant or not, of endemic species in these regions will largely contribute to programmes for the monitoring of the mammal diversity in this area.
Would you like to know more about these impressive discoveries? Mail to Erik Verheyen for a full text of the following scientific publications:
Verheyen,W.N., Hulselmans, J.L.J., Dierckx, T., Mulungu, L., Leirs, H., Corti, M. & Verheyen, E. The characterization of the Kilimanjaro Lophuromys acquilis TRUE 1892 population and the description of five new Lophuromys species (Rodentia, Muridae), In: Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences: biology, 77(2007), p. 23-76.
Lavrenchenko, L.A., Verheyen, W.N., Verheyen, E., Hulselmans, J. & Leirs, H. Morphometric and genetic study of Ethiopian Lophuromys flavopunctatus THOMAS, 1888 species complex with description of three new 70-chromosal species (Muridae, Rodentia), In: Bulletin of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences: biology, 77(2007), p. 77-118.