> BMC Biol. 2008 Feb 14;6(1):10 [Epub ahead of print]
>
>Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: resolving relationships, tempo
>and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation.
>
>Koepfli KP, Deere KA, Slater GJ, Begg C, Begg K, Grassman L,
>Lucherini M, Veron G, Wayne RK.
>
>ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Adaptive radiation - the evolution of ecological
>and phenotypic diversity from a common ancestor - is a central concept
>in evolutionary biology and characterises the evolutionary histories
>of many groups of organisms. One such group is the Mustelidae, the
>most species-rich family within the mammalian order Carnivora,
>encompassing 59 species classified into 22 genera. Extant mustelids
>display extensive ecomorphological diversity, with different lineages
>having evolved into an array of adaptive zones, from fossorial badgers
>to semi-aquatic otters. Mustelids are also widely distributed, with
>multiple genera found on different continents. As with other groups
>that have undergone adaptive radiation, resolving the phylogenetic
>history of mustelids presents a number challenges because
>ecomorphological convergence may potentially confound
>morphologically-based phylogenetic inferences, and because adaptive
>radiations often include one or more periods of rapid cladogenesis
>that require a large amount of data to resolve. RESULTS: We
>constructed a nearly complete generic-level phylogeny of the
>Mustelidae using a data matrix comprised of 22 gene segments (~12, 000
>base pairs) analyzed with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and
>Bayesian inference methods. We show that mustelids are consistently
>resolved with high nodal support into four major clades and three
>monotypic lineages. Using Bayesian dating techniques, we provide
>evidence that mustelids underwent two bursts of diversification
>that coincide with major paleoenvironmental and biotic changes that
>occurred during the Neogene and correspond with similar bursts of
>cladogenesis in other vertebrate groups. Biogeographical analyses
>indicate that most of the extant diversity of mustelids originated in
>Eurasia and mustelids have colonized Africa, North America and South
>America on multiple occasions. CONCLUSIONS: Combined with information
>from the fossil record, our phylogenetic and dating analyses suggest
>that mustelid diversification may have been spurred by a combination
>of faunal turnover events and diversification at lower trophic levels,
>ultimately caused by climatically-driven environmental changes.
>Our biogeographic analyses show Eurasia as the center of origin of
>mustelid diversity and that mustelids in Africa, North America and
>South America have been assembled over time largely via dispersal,
>which has important implications for understanding the ecology of
>mustelid communities.
>
> PMID: 18275614 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
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