Project 216: R. S. Voss, S. A. Jansa. 2009. Phylogenetic Relationships and Classification of Didelphid Marsupials, an Extant Radiation of New World Metatherian Mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 322:1-177.
Specimen: Caluromys lanatus (unvouchered)

Abstract

This report summarizes a decade of morphological and molecular research on the phylogenetic relationships of didelphid marsupials (opossums), a substantially intact radiation of New World metatherian mammals. We review the comparative morphology of Recent opossums, emphasizing those anatomical systems from which taxonomically useful information is available for the majority of living genera and species, namely the integument, cranium, and dentition. Morphological similarities and differences among didelphids and other plesiomorphic marsupials (caenolestids, microbiotheriids, dasyurids, and peramelids) are also described. These observations, representing evolved differences in diverse functional-morphological systems, together with karyotypic information gleaned from the literature, provide the basis for coding 129 phylogenetic characters that we scored for 44 ingroup and 7 outgroup taxa.

Published information about the size, internal organization, chromosomal location, and physiological properties of five nuclear genes (BRCA1, DMP1, IRBP, RAG1, vWF) sequenced for this study suggest that these loci are unlinked, exist as single copies, are active in different tissues, and encode protein products with widely divergent functions. All of the sequenced fragments are long (>900 bp), free of alignment ambiguities, and translate to open reading frame. Nucleotide data from a total of 7320 aligned sites were obtained from 43 ingroup and 7 outgroup taxa.

Separate parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of these six data partitions (morphology + karyotypes, five genes) resulted in highly congruent estimates of didelphid phylogeny with few examples of conflict among strongly supported nodes. Analyses of concatenated sequences and combined (nonmolecular + sequence) datasets effectively summarize all of the common signal recovered from separate analyses: a completely resolved ingroup phylogeny with high support statistics at most nodes. Remaining problems (not conclusively resolved in this study) include the position of the ingroup root and the relationships of three genera (Chacodelphys, Cryptonanus, Tlacuatzin) within their respective suprageneric clades.

The history of didelphid classification is reviewed, and all previous systems are found to contain nonmonophyletic groups. A revised phylogenetic classification consistent with our analytic results includes the following higher taxa: Glironiinae (for Glironia), Caluromyinae (Caluromys and Caluromysiops), Hyladelphinae (Hyladelphys), Didelphinae (Marmosini, Metachirini, Didelphini, and Thylamyini), Marmosini (Marmosa, Monodelphis, and Tlacuatzin), Metachirini (Metachirus), Didelphini (Chironectes, Didelphis, Lutreolina, and Philander), and Thylamyini (Chacodelphys, Cryptonanus, Gracilinanus, Lestodelphys, Marmosops, and Thylamys). The probable relationships of several Neogene fossil genera is also discussed. To facilitate identifications, all Recent genera are redescribed, representative crania are illustrated, and a key is provided.



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Project DOI: 10.7934/P216, http://dx.doi.org/10.7934/P216
This project containsMatrices
  • 1 Media
  • 1 Matrix
  • 80 Taxa
  • 1 Specimen
  • 129 Characters
Total size of project's media files: 113.4k

Download Project SDD File
Total scored cells: 6447
Total media associated with cells: 0
Total labels associated with cell media: 0
Characters
Total characters: 129
Total characters with associated media: 0
Total characters with media with labels: 0
Total character states: 296
Total character states with associated media: 0
Total character states with media with labels:0
Total unordered/ordered characters:129/0
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MorphoBank Project 216

    This research
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    Authors' Institutions

    • University of Minnesota

    • American Museum of Natural History



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    (scored, NPA, "-")
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    Robert Voss
    Project Administrator
    800001290006447
    (6348, 0, 99)
    0000
    MorphoBank Curator
    Full membership
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    Taxonomic Overview for Matrix 'M600' (51 Taxa)

    taxon unscored
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    [1] Caluromys lanatus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012912801002
    [2] Caluromys philander
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [3] Caluromysiops irrupta
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    612212102002
    [4] Chacodelphys formosa
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    1711111101002
    [5] Chironectes minimus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [6] Cryptonanus chacoensis
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012712702002
    [7] Cryptonanus unduaviensis
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    812012001002
    [8] Didelphis albiventris
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012912900002
    [9] Didelphis marsupialis
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012912900002
    [10] Didelphis virginiana
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012912900002
    [11] Glironia venusta
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    712112002002
    [12] Gracilinanus aceramarcae
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    712012002002
    [13] Gracilinanus agilis
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    512312301002
    [14] Gracilinanus emiliae
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412312302002
    [15] Gracilinanus microtarsus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    612312300002
    [16] Hyladelphys kalinowskii
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412412302002
    [17] Lestodelphys halli
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    112712602002
    [18] Lutreolina crassicaudata
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [19] Marmosa lepida
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412412401002
    [20] Marmosa mexicana
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [21] Marmosa murina
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [22] Marmosa robinsoni
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [23] Marmosa rubra
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    811911902002
    [24] Marmosops impavidus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012712702002
    [25] Marmosops incanus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    212612502002
    [26] Marmosops noctivagus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812702002
    [27] Marmosops parvidens
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412312302002
    [28] Marmosops pinheiroi
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412312302002
    [29] Metachirus nudicaudatus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012712702002
    [30] Micoureus demerarae
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [31] Micoureus paraguayanus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412412401002
    [32] Micoureus regina
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [33] Monodelphis brevicaudata
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812603002
    [34] Monodelphis emiliae
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    212612403002
    [35] Monodelphis peruviana
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    711911903002
    [36] Monodelphis theresa
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    1111611602002
    [37] Philander frenata
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    312812600002
    [38] Philander mcilhennyi
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012912900002
    [39] Philander opossum
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    112812800002
    [40] Thylamys macrurus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    312412402002
    [41] Thylamys pallidior
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412412401002
    [42] Thylamys pusillus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812702002
    [43] Thylamys venustus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    412412401002
    [44] Tlacuatzin canescens
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [45] Caenolestes fuliginosus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    811311209002
    [46] Rhyncholestes raphanurus
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    1011211009002
    [47] Murexia longicaudata
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    212412304002
    [48] Sminthopsis crassicaudata
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    112412404002
    [49] Dromiciops gliroides
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    012812801002
    [50] Echymipera kalubu
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    112312305002
    [51] Perameles gunnii
    Last Modified in 12/05/13
    212012007002


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