Phylogeography of Peromyscus furvus (Rodentia; muridae) based on cytochrome b sequence data

We conducted phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome b sequence data to assess genetic variation within and among the three allopatric segments of the distribution of Peromyscus furvus from the Sierra Madre Oriental in eastern Mexico. We identified 24 unique haplotypes among the 54 individuals examined and genetic distances ranged up to 0.078 substitutions per site. Populations from the central portion of the range formed a monophyletic unit, whereas samples from the southern distributional unit were polyphyletic. Furthermore, the southernmost population sampled may represent a distinct species. This high degree of genetic differentiation among populations, currently recognized as conspecific, mirrors the result of other genetic studies of highland rodents in Mesoamerica. Together these studies indicate that the region, already considered hyperdiverse on the basis of species diversity and endemism, may contain considerably greater diversity than is currently appreciated.