The rodents are one of the most diversified groups of living mammals and also have a large range of ecological adaptations. The rodents, because of yours population characteristics, developed as the most specious group of mammals in Neotropical forests and one of the most interesting for studies of genetic variation and evolution among vertebrates. The genus Oecomys (Sigmodontinae) comprises approximately 16 species that inhabit tropical and subtropical forests in Central and South America. Six of these species are expected to occur in eastern Brasilian Amazon. In literature, the genus Oecomys has a large karyotypic variation, where the diploid number ranges from 58 to 86. In this study specimens of Oecomys paricola Thomas, 1904 from Belém and Marajó Island, northern Brazil, were investigated using cytogenetic, molecular and morphological analyses. Three karyotypes were found, two from Belém (2n=68, FN=72 and 2n=70, FN=76) and a third from Marajó Island (2n=70, FN=72). No molecular or morphological differences were found between the individuals with differing cytotypes from Belém and Marajó Island. Specimens from the Belém City region may represent two cryptic species because two different karyotypes are present in the absence of significant differences in morphology and molecular characteristics. The Marajó Island and Belém populations represent distinct species that have been separated for some time, and are in the process of morphological and molecular differentiation as a consequence of reproductive isolation at the geographic and chromosomal levels.
|
