Species relationships in the dasyurid marsupial genus Pseudantechinus (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae): a re-examination of the taxonomic status of Pseudantechinus roryi

Abstract

The status of Pseudantechinus roryi relative to its congeners has been determined from DNA sequences obtained from both nuclear and mitochondrial gene loci. Although all other recognised species of Pseudantechinus form reciprocally monophyletic lineages in phylogenetic analyses, individuals identified in museum collections as Ps. roryi (including type specimens) were indistinguishable from those identified as Ps. macdonnellensis. Ps. roryi is thus considered to be a synonym of Ps. macdonnellensis. Neighbour-joining network analyses failed to reveal any clear biogeographic differences between populations of Ps. macdonnellensis other than some evidence of isolation by distance.