Cytochrome- b haplotypes suggest an undescribed Peromyscus species from the Yukon

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Lucid, M.K., Cook, J.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2007
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Yukon; Haines Junction
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z07-076; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/Z07-076; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z07-076

Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845) and Peromyscus keeni Merriam, 1897 are two species of deer mouse currently recognized in the Yukon. Phylogenetic analyses (Kimura two-parameter and maximum parsimony) of cytochrome-b sequences (560 base pairs) from deer mouse specimens (n = 4) collected near Haines Junction, Yukon, resulted in a monophyletic clade genetically distant from the two currently recognized species. We suggest that the Haines Junction specimens may represent a previously undescribed peromyscine species. Peromyscus arcticus is an available name.