>Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2009 Sep;52(3):632-42. Epub 2009 Jun 6. >Mustela or Vison? Evidence for the taxonomic status of the American >mink and a distinct biogeographic radiation of American weasels. >Harding LE, Smith FA. >Department of Biology MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, >Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. > >The American mink's relationship to the weasels in Mustela has been >uncertain. Karyological, morphological, and phylogenetic comparisons >to Eurasian Mustela support placing the mink outside the genus as >Neovison vison. However, genetic comparisons that incorporate other >endemic American Mustela suggest the interpretation of N. vison's >position to Mustela has been handicapped by biased geographic >sampling. Here, we analyzed mitochondrial cytochrome-b from all >weasels endemic to the Americas, including two poorly known South >American species (M. felipei, M. africana), weasels native to North >America (M. vison, M. frenata, M. nigripes), Mustela migrant to North >America (M. erminea, M. nivalis), palearctic Mustela, and other >American members of Mustelidae. Bayesian and likelihood inference >methods were used to construct a phylogeny of Mustela, and relaxed >Bayesian phylogenetic techniques estimated ages of divergence within >the genus using priors calibrated by fossil ages. Our analyses show >that the American mink and the smaller Mustela endemic to the Americas >represent a distinct phylogenetic heritage apart from their Eurasian >cousins, and biogeographic barriers like the Bering and Panamanian >land bridges have influenced the evolutionary history of Mustela in >the Americas. > >PMID: 19501660 Sukie (not a vet) Recommended ferret health links: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/ http://ferrethealth.org/archive/ http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html http://www.miamiferret.org/ http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/ http://www.ferretcongress.org/ http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html all ferret topics: http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html [Posted in FML 6414]