Zokor (Myospalacinae) is one of the subterranean rodents, endemic to east Asia. Due to the convergent and parallel evolution induced by its special lifestyles, the controversies in morphological classification of zokor appeared at the level of family and genus. To resolve these controversies about taxonomy and phylogeny, the phylogenetic relationships of 20 species of Muroidea and six species of zokors were studied based on complete mitochondrial genome and mitochondrial Cytb gene, respectively. Phylogeny analysis of 20 species of Muroidea indicated that the zokor belonged to the family Spalacidae, and it was closer to mole rat rather than bamboo rat. Besides, by investigating the phylogenetic relationships of six species of zokors, the status of two genera of Eospalax and Myospalax was affirmed because the two clades differentiated in phylogenetic tree represented two types of zokors, convex occiput type and flat occiput type, respectively. In addition, the two origins in Eospalax were found diverged at 3.71 million years ago (Ma) based on estimation of divergence time. It is suggested that the climate and ecology changes caused by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift event in 3.6 Ma led to the inner divergence of Eospalax . The intraspecific phylogenetic relationships of partial zokors were well resolved, the two clades of Eospalax cansus represented two geographical populations, respectively, and the divergent pattern of Eospalax baileyi was characterized by allopatric divergence spatially. In this study, we explored the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of Myospalacinae at the molecular level. These works would be significant to understanding the evolutionary process and to clarify the mechanism of differentiation of Myospalacinae.

中文翻译：

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zokors的分类学和系统发育关系

Zokor（Myospalacinae）是一种地下啮齿动物，是东亚特有的。由于其特殊的生活方式导致的趋同和平行进化，zokor的形态分类争议出现在科和属层面。为了解决这些分类学和系统发育方面的争议，分别基于完整的线粒体基因组和线粒体Cytb基因研究了20种鼠科和6种zokors的系统发育关系。对鼹鼠总科20种的系统发育分析表明，鼹鼠属于鼹鼠科，与鼹鼠更接近，而不是竹鼠。此外，通过调查六种zokors的系统发育关系，Eospalax和Myospalax两个属的地位得到肯定，因为在系统发育树上分化的两个进化枝分别代表了两种zokors，凸枕型和扁平枕型。此外，根据对分歧时间的估计，发现Eospalax的两个起源在371万年前（Ma）发生分歧。推测3.6 Ma青藏高原隆升事件引起的气候和生态变化导致了Eospalax的内部发散。部分zokors的种内系统发育关系得到了很好的解决，Eospalax cansus的两个进化枝分别代表了两个地理种群，Eospalax baneyi的发散模式在空间上以异域发散为特征。在这项研究中，我们在分子水平上探索了 Myospalacinae 的分类地位和系统发育关系。这些工作对于理解肌腱亚科的进化过程和阐明分化机制具有重要意义。