Title |
The taxonomic status of the endangered thin-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus(Olfers, 1818), based on molecular and karyologic data
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Published in |
BMC Ecology and Evolution, February 2009
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DOI | 10.1186/1471-2148-9-29 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Roberto V Vilela, Taís Machado, Karen Ventura, Valéria Fagundes, Maria José de J Silva, Yatiyo Yonenaga-Yassuda |
Abstract |
The thin-spined porcupine, also known as the bristle-spined rat, Chaetomys subspinosus (Olfers, 1818), the only member of its genus, figures among Brazilian endangered species. In addition to being threatened, it is poorly known, and even its taxonomic status at the family level has long been controversial. The genus Chaetomys was originally regarded as a porcupine in the family Erethizontidae, but some authors classified it as a spiny-rat in the family Echimyidae. Although the dispute seems to be settled in favor of the erethizontid advocates, further discussion of its affinities should be based on a phylogenetic framework. In the present study, we used nucleotide-sequence data from the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and karyotypic information to address this issue. Our molecular analyses included one individual of Chaetomys subspinosus from the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil, and other hystricognaths. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United States | 2 | 29% |
Ireland | 1 | 14% |
Unknown | 4 | 57% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 5 | 71% |
Scientists | 2 | 29% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Brazil | 3 | 4% |
Malaysia | 1 | 1% |
Netherlands | 1 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |
Canada | 1 | 1% |
China | 1 | 1% |
United States | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 75 | 89% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 16 | 19% |
Researcher | 15 | 18% |
Student > Bachelor | 12 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 9 | 11% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 8 | 10% |
Other | 12 | 14% |
Unknown | 12 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 53 | 63% |
Environmental Science | 7 | 8% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 6 | 7% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 2 | 2% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 1% |
Other | 3 | 4% |
Unknown | 12 | 14% |