Análisis filogenético de las poblaciones colombianas del género Tamandua (Pilosa: Myrmecophagidae)

The genus Tamandua is made up of two species of anteaters, both with distributions in Colombia; Tamandua mexicana in the trans-Andean region and Tamandua tetradactyla in the Cisandina region. There is a sympatry zone in the center of the country, where individuals with intermediate phenotypes have been found and are classified as Tamandua mexicana despite not having the complete phenotype of this species. In this study, a genetic characterization of Tamandua individuals was carried out through a phylogenetic reconstruction by maximum likelihood and a Bayesian analysis, based on the mitochondrial markers Ribosomal RNA 16S (rRNA 16S), Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI), and the Hypervariable Region I of Mitochondria. The results show genetic differentiation between T. mexicana and T. tetradactyla individuals, which supports the existence of two species for the genus. Individuals with the intermediate phenotype do not show a tendency to form an isolated clade within the group of T. mexicana. These results are consistent with the current taxonomic classification of the genus, and do not support any further evolutionary process.