Insights into the molecular systematics of montane voles of the Western Himalayan Mountains
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Kashmir voles ( Hyperacrius ) are poorly studied fossorial arvicolines of the southern Himalayan slopes, with two species recognized. We sequenced Cytb from voles collected in northern Pakistan and combined these data with existing GenBank sequences, yielding 194 tips spanning nearly all arvicoline genera. We analyzed five data sets with maximum likelihood and compared external measurements among species using principal component and linear discriminant analyses. We recovered five well-supported clades of Hyperacrius separated by ∼12–14% p-distance, which we treat as distinct species. We recognize clade 1 as H. wynnei , and populations referred to H. w. traubi are genetically indistinguishable from H. w. wynnei . We recognize H. zygomaticus , new rank (clade 2), and tentatively allocate clade 5 to H. brachelix . Clades 3 and 4 likely represent undescribed species. Morphometric analyses of external measurements clearly distinguish H. wynnei but not clades 3 and 4 (overall classification accuracy 70.3%). Phylogenetic analyses including nuclear genes placed Hyperacrius as sister to a clade containing Microtini, Arvicola , Lagurini, Dinaromys , and Ellobiusini, whereas mitochondrial analyses weakly allied it with Ellobiusini. Its traditional placement in Clethrionomyini is thus unsupported, although its exact position remains unresolved. Alticola is nonmonophyletic, with A. macrotis sequences nested within Clethrionomys , likely reflecting mitochondrial capture. Teaser Text Kashmir voles, burrowing rodents of the Himalayan foothills, were thought to include two species. DNA evidence reveals at least five, including two likely new to science, and shows these voles are not close relatives of the red-backed voles they were long grouped with.
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: University of Texas at Austin
OpenAlex ID: W7220830839