Phylogenomic systematics of the spotted skunks (Carnivora, Mephitidae, Spilogale): Additional species diversity and Pleistocene climate change as a major driver of diversification

@article{McDonough2020PhylogenomicSO,
  title={Phylogenomic systematics of the spotted skunks (Carnivora, Mephitidae, Spilogale): Additional species diversity and Pleistocene climate change as a major driver of diversification},
  author={Molly M. McDonough and Adam W. Ferguson and Robert C. Dowler and Matthew E. Gompper and Jes{\'u}s E. Maldonado},
  journal={bioRxiv},
  year={2020}
}
Four species of spotted skunks (Carnivora, Mephitidae, Spilogale) are currently recognized: Spilogale angustifrons, S. gracilis, S. putorius, and S. pygmaea. Understanding species boundaries within this group is critical for effective conservation given that regional populations or subspecies (e.g., S. p. interrupta) have experienced significant population declines. Further, there may be currently unrecognized diversity within this genus as some taxa (e.g., S. angustifrons) and geographic… 
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Molecular phylogeny and systematics of bald uakaris, genus Cacajao Lesson, 1840 (Primates: Pitheciidae), with the description of a new species.
Pattern and timing of mitochondrial divergence of island spotted skunks on the California Channel Islands
Island spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis amphiala) are a rare subspecies endemic to the California Channel Islands, currently extant on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. How and when skunks arrived…
Mitochondrial Genomes of the United States Distribution of Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) Reveal a Major Phylogeographic Break at the Great Plains Suture Zone
TLDR
Despite broad-scale sampling, Gray foxes in the United States displayed a deep, cryptic divergence suggesting taxonomic revision is needed, and secondary contact at a common phylogeographic break, the Great Plains Suture Zone, suggests ongoing evolutionary processes may reinforce this divergence.
The Relevance of a Type Locality: the Case of Mephitis interrupta Rafinesque, 1820 (Carnivora: Mephitidae)
For more than 130 years, the type locality of the Plains Spotted Skunk, Spilogale putorius interrupta (Rafinesque, 1820) has been accepted to be along the upper Missouri River. The species'…
Itching for Recognition: Dermatophytosis Identified in an Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius) Population in Texas
Abstract The diversity, clinical manifestations, and impact on overall health of pathogenic fungi in Spilogale putorius (Eastern Spotted Skunk [ESS]) have been poorly investigated. Herein, we…

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