Resumo

VARGAS, Karla; BROWN, David; WISELY, Eldridge  e  CULVER, Melanie. Reinstatement of the Tamaulipas white-sided jackrabbit, Lepus altamirae, based on DNA sequence data. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2019, vol.90, e902520.  Epub 27-Maio-2019. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2520.

In 1904, the Tamaulipas jackrabbit (Lepus altamirae) was described as a subspecies of Lepus merriami. In 1909, E. W. Nelson assigned L. altamirae to the white-sided group of jackrabbits, and in 1951, E. R. Hall reclassified it as a subspecies of black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus altamirae). Our comparison of the original 5 specimens of the Tamaulipas jackrabbit in the U.S. National Museum suggested this taxon had a close relationship to the white-sided jackrabbit, Lepus callotis. To validate Nelson’s placement of the Tamaulipas jackrabbit within the white-sided group, we conducted phylogenetic analyses using the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (MT-CYB). Our analyses of 2 specimens collected in 1898, suggest that L. altamirae is most closely related to Lepus flavigularis, a member of the white-sided group. Therefore, the Tamaulipas jackrabbit warrants taxonomic restoration as a species within the white-sided group of jackrabbits, which also includes L. callotis, L. flavigularis, and Lepus alleni.

Palavras-chave : Cytochrome b; Lepus; Mexico; Phylogeny; Species reinstatement.

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