A revised subgeneric classification of short-tailed opossums (Didelphidae, Monodelphis)

Title Variants

Alternative: Subgenera of shorttailed opossums (Monodelphis)

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3868

By

Pavan, Silvia E , author

Voss, Robert S. , author

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History [2016]

Notes

Caption title.

"December 1, 2016."

Members of the didelphid marsupial genus Monodelphis have previously been classified into species groups, but such informal subdivisions are inconsistent among authors and have contributed little but confusion to the taxonomic history of the genus. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies, however, have consistently recovered several strongly supported multispecies clades that merit formal recognition. Here we define and illustrate morphological characters that are useful for diagnosing these monophyletic groups, which we name and rank as subgenera to conserve binomial usage: Monodelphis Burnett, 1830 (for M. arlindoi, M. brevicaudata, M. domestica, M. glirina, M. palliolata, M. sanctaerosae, and M. touan), Microdelphys Burmeister, 1856 (for M. americana, M. gardneri, M. iheringi, and M. scalops), Monodelphiops Matschie, 1916 (for M. dimidiata and M. unistriata); Mygalodelphys, new subgenus (for M. adusta, M. handleyi, M. kunsi, M. osgoodi, M. peruviana, M. pinocchio, M. reigi, and M. ronaldi); and Pyrodelphys, new subgenus (for M. emiliae). We provide morphological diagnoses and describe pairwise comparisons to facilitate subgeneric identification, and we summarize subgeneric patterns of geographical distribution and sympatry to supplement recently published biogeographic analyses of the genus.

Subjects

Classification , Mammals , Molecular aspects , Opossums , Phylogeny , Short-tailed opossums

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3868 2016

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/3868.1
OCLC: 964633663