Phylogeography of the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus in Asia

 

Phylogeography is an importing tool for understanding the spatial distribution of taxa and the genetic variation within and between taxa. 

Chen-Ming Shi and co-workers have recently published a study investigating the phylogeography of the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus (Birula, 1912) (Buthidae)*. The questions they try to answer is where and when did the desert scorpion originate and how have climatic forces shaped the dispersal of the species in Asia.

*Please note that this species was synonymized with Mesobuthus thersites (C. L. Koch, 1839) in 2022.

Abstract:
A comprehensive understanding of phylogeography requires the integration of knowledge across different organisms, ecosystems, and geographic regions. However, a critical knowledge gap exists in the arid biota of the vast Asian drylands. To narrow this gap, here we test an “out-of-Central Asia” hypothesis for the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus by combining Bayesian phylogeographic reconstruction and ecological niche modeling. Phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci and molecular dating revealed that M. mongolicus represents a coherent lineage that diverged from its most closely related lineage in Central Asia about 1.36 Ma and underwent radiation ever since. Bayesian phylogeographic reconstruction indicated that the ancestral population dispersed from Central Asia gradually eastward to the Gobi region via the Junggar Basin, suggesting that the Junggar Basin has severed as a corridor for Quaternary faunal exchange between Central Asia and East Asia. Two major dispersal events occurred probably during interglacial periods (around 0.8 and 0.4 Ma, respectively) when climatic conditions were analogous to present-day status, under which the scorpion achieved its maximum distributional range. M. mongolicus underwent demographic expansion during the Last Glacial Maximum, although the predicted distributional areas were smaller than those at present and during the Last Interglacial. Development of desert ecosystems in northwest China incurred by intensified aridification might have opened up empty habitats that sustained population expansion. Our results extend the spatiotemporal dimensions of trans-Eurasia faunal exchange

Reference:
Shi CM, Zhang XS, Liu L, Ji YJ, Zhang DX. Phylogeography of the desert scorpion illuminates a route out of Central Asia. Curr Zool. 2023;69(4):442-55. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Victor Fet for sending me this article!