Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of Iranian murids (Rodentia: Muridae)

The family Muridae represents the largest, most diverse and successful of all groups of mammals. Here we infer the phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography for the Iranian murid rodents, which consist in twelve species distributed in three subfamilies and seven genera. Molecular dating analyses using a relaxed Bayesian molecular clock support the monophyly of belonging to Murinae, Gerbillinae and Deomyinae and allow to set up divergence dates between them around 18.29 Ma (Million years ago). According to our results, murines may have originated approximately 12.28 Ma and the diversification of most of their evolutionary lineages may have taken place between 10 and 3 Ma, which is consistent with the fossil record. Our results provide strong support for the tribes Apodemyini and Rattini (Murinae) but the monophyly of the genus Meriones belonging to the Gerbillinae is questioned. Historical biogeographic analysis supports an area covering most of Iran, as the most likely ancestral geographic origin for gerbillines whereas that inferred for murines is restricted to the West and North of Iran. All in all, Iran seems to have acted as a corridor for faunal exchanges between the Afrotropic and Saharo-Arabian realms and the Indomalayan realm as well as between Central Asia and the Mediterranean regions.