Phylogenetic Relationships of the Endemic Sri Lankan Shrew Genera: Solisorex and Feroculus

Abstract

Sri Lanka has a rich diversity of shrews: ten species in four genera, with two genera and five species endemic to the island. In the current study we use complete cytochrome-b mitochondrial gene sequences to infer the relationships of two Sri Lankan monotypic genera Solisorex and Feroculus. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses revealed that Solisorex is an old lineage that forms the sister group to all other crocidurines. In contrast, Feroculus is nested within Suncus.Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 43 (2): 65-71, 2014