Evidence of a complex phylogeographic structure in the Indomalayan pencil-tailed tree mouse Chiropodomys gliroides (Rodentia: Muridae) in eastern Indochina

The paper presents the first phylogeography of the Indomalayan pencil-tailed tree mouse, Chiropodomys gliroides, an arboreal rodent widely distributed in SE Asia. Fifty four specimens of C. gliroides, sampled throughout eastern Indochina (Vietnam and Laos), have been sequenced for the mitochondrial (cytb and control region) and nuclear (IRBP) genes. The results have revealed the existence of two highly divergent allopatric lineages showing a genetic divergence of 12% cytb and occurring in different regions of Vietnam. The northern lineage occurs in northern and central Vietnam, central Laos and the highlands of southern Vietnam, and the southern lineage occurs in lowlands of southern Vietnam. In the south, representatives of both lineages were collected at the distance of less than 130 km from each other. The occurrence of both genetic lineages in southern Vietnam seems to testify for an important role of Dalat Plateau as a possible refuge for small mammals. Yet, our results do not support the assignment of Chiropodomys neither to the Micromys division of Murinae, nor to a close phylogenetic link between Chiropodomys and Hapalomys.