Análisis filogenético de Allocricetus del Pleistoceno (Cricetidae, Rodentia, Mammalia)

Abstract

The performance of the phylogenetical method applied to 13 cricetid taxa gives a cladogram that permits the knowledge of the relationships among Allocricetus and close taxa of the Plio-Pleistocene. The taxa are Democricetodon, Kowalskia,Neocricetodon, Cricetulodon, Cricetus, Cricetulus, Allocricetus. bursae, Allocricetus teilhardi, Allocricetus ehiki, Allocricet esreelicus, Allocricetus anterolophidens, Allocricetus croaticus and Allocricetus correzensis being Democricetodon the outgroup taxa. One can see two main clades in the phylogenetic tree: one is the Allocricetus – Cricetus – Cricetulodon clade and the other is the Kowalskia – Neocricetodon clade. The A-C-C clade is composed by tree taxa, the clade A. ehiki, A. correzensis, A. croaticus and A. anterolophidens, the clade Cricetulus, A. jesreelicus and A. teilhardi and the species A. bursae. Therefore, Allocricetus must be considered as a paraphiletic taxa including A. bursae and the species A. ehiki, A. correzensis, A. croaticus and A. anterolophidens. If not, it is necessary to define a new geneus that includes the last four species. The species A. jesreelicus and A. teilhardi must be included in the genus Cricetulus. The clade Neocricetodon – Kowalskia share a common ancestor with the Allocricetus-Cricetus-Cricetulodon clade. Our phylogenetic hypothesis points to the existence of three different species of Cricetidae in Atapuerca, A. bursae and A. ehiki in the Lower Pleistocene levels and A. correzensis in the Middle Pleistocene levels.