Work

Revalidation and expanded description of Mustela aistoodonnivalis (Mustelidae: Carnivora) based on a multigene phylogeny and morphology

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: The lacked‐teeth pygmy weasel, Mustela aistoodonnivalis Wu & Kao, 1991, was originally described as being from Taibai Mountain and Zhashui county, Shaanxi, China. Subsequently, it was considered a subspecies or synonym of Mustela nivalis . In a faunal survey of northwestern Sichuan, eight specimens of M. aistoodonnivalis were collected. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of one mitochondrial and six nuclear genes clustered the specimens as a distinct clade and not with M. nivalis . Morphologically, the lack of the second lower molar differentiated them from M. nivalis , and genetic distances were typical of discrete species. These analyses confirmed that M. aistoodonnivalis is an independent species in the genus Mustela .

Source: Ecology and Evolution

DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9944