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Paraphyly of the widespread generalist red fox (Vulpes vulpes): introgression rather than recent divergence of the arid-adapted Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii)?

Basuony, Ali, Saleh, Mostafa, Sarhan, Moustafa, Younes, Mahmoud, Abdel-Hamid, Fouad, Rodriguez, Carlos, Vercammen, Paul, Aboshaala, Faraj, Bounaceur, Farid, Chadwick, Elizabeth A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6662-6343 and Hailer, Frank ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2340-1726 2023. Paraphyly of the widespread generalist red fox (Vulpes vulpes): introgression rather than recent divergence of the arid-adapted Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii)? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 138 (4) , pp. 453-469. 10.1093/biolinnean/blad001

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Abstract

Understanding of the evolutionary history of two closely related canid sister taxa, the geographically restricted, arid-adapted Rüppell’s fox (Vulpes rueppellii) and the widespread generalist red fox (Vulpes vulpes), has been hampered by limited sampling in the biogeographically complex region of North Africa and the Middle East. We sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b and D-loop fragments from 116 samples for both species and combined these data with previously published sequences, resulting in 459 haplotypes. Obtained phylogenies showed high support for most branches, including for a newly described ‘Palearctic clade’ that includes North African and Asian individuals from both species. All V. rueppellii individuals fell within the Palearctic clade, forming two previously undescribed subclades that were intermingled with, but not shared with V. vulpes. Our robust placement of V. rueppellii within V. vulpes renders the latter paraphyletic. We propose three scenarios that could explain these observations: (1) rapid, recent speciation of V. rueppellii from V. vulpes, (2) incomplete lineage sorting, or (3) ancient divergence followed by introgression and secondary mtDNA similarity. The third scenario is in best agreement with evidence from the fossil record, and morphometric and ecological distinctiveness between the two taxa, and therefore seems most likely.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Biosciences
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 1095-8312
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 21 December 2022
Date of Acceptance: 19 December 2022
Last Modified: 10 May 2023 00:22
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/155038

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