The taxonomy and distribution of rodents in Zambia was comprehensively summarized in 1978 by W.F.H. Ansell in his excellent book Mammals of Zambia. Despite the fact that during the last three decades many new taxonomic revisions of African rodents were published and extensive new material collected, not much work has been done on Zambian rodents since the book publication. Here we summarize the current knowledge of one of the most speciose group of African rodents, the tribe Praomyini, in Zambia. We review available historical records and revise our recently collected material by sequencing the mitochondrial DNA gene of cytochrome b. The presence of eight species of Praomyini in Zambia is documented and the pattern of their geographical distribution is described and discussed. Two species, Praomys minor and Mastomys coucha, are reported for the first time from Zambia and Praomys cf. jacksoni probably represents a new undescribed species. On the other hand, the actual occurrence of Colomys goslingi, known in Zambia only from one historical record, is questionable. The results document the usefulness of the DNA barcoding approach for description of species diversity of taxonomically complicated groups with many cryptic species.
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1 November 2012
Revised occurrence of rodents from the tribe Praomyini (Muridae) in Zambia based on mitochondrial DNA analyses: implications for biogeography and conservation
Josef Bryja,
Vladimír Mazoch,
Hana Patzenhauerová,
Clare Mateke,
Jan Zima,
Jan Šklíba,
Radim Šumbera
Folia Zoologica
Vol. 61 • No. 3–4
November 2012
Vol. 61 • No. 3–4
November 2012
DNA barcoding
faunistics
mtDNA
Murinae
phylogeny
Rodentia
zoogeography