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The house mouse (Mus musculus) represents the extreme of globalization of invasive mammals. However, the timing and basis of its origin and early phases of dispersal remain poorly documented. To track its synanthropisation and subsequent invasive spread during the develoment of complex human societies, we analyzed 829 Mus specimens from 43 archaeological contexts in Southwestern Asia and Southeastern Europe, between 40,000 and 3,000 cal. BP, combining geometric morphometrics numerical taxonomy, ancient mitochondrial DNA and direct radiocarbon dating. We found that large late hunter-gatherer sedentary settlements in the Levant, c. 14,500 cal. BP, promoted the commensal behaviour of the house mouse, which probably led the commensal pathway to cat domestication. House mouse invasive spread was then fostered through the emergence of agriculture throughout the Near East 12,000 years ago. Stowaway transport of house mice to Cyprus can be inferred as early as 10,800 years ago. However, the house mouse invasion of Europe did not happen until the development of proto urbanism and exchange networks — 6,500 years ago in Eastern Europe and 4000 years ago in Southern Europe — which in turn may have driven the first human mediated dispersal of cats in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the life history of various organisms is essential for ecological and evolutionary inferences. However, publications regarding models of evolutionary shifts to either r- or K-reproductive strategies are scarce. Here, the combined original and previously published data on reproduction and development of Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse (Calomyscus elburzensis), golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and house mouse (Mus musculus) were compared. An adult male and female in estrous state (from each species) were coupled with each other for a night and embryos were harvested at embryonic days (E) 10–17 from pregnant females. The mean gestation period in Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse was 31.5 ± 2.1 days; growth was rapid at the first half of this period and after that it was reduced by half. During the postnatal period, growth was rapid up to weaning, but after day 35, the rate of growth decreased abruptly. Growth rate of head and body length was very rapid prior to weaning (PN35) in comparison with weight but the rates of the two characters were inversed following weaning. Totally, weight gain was more dynamic in rate, as compared with head and body length, up to adultness. For golden hamster and house mouse, gestation period was 15.6 ± 0.8 and 20.8 ± 0.8 days, respectively. Growth was slow during approximately the first half of the gestation period in both species but increased during the second half. During postnatal period in golden hamster, growth rate of head and body length was rapid both before and after weaning as compared with that of weight. However, head and body length showed a stable rate of growth before and after weaning (around PN15), but for body weight, the growth rate was slightly faster after weaning. Similarly, changes in head and body length in house mouse were rapid both before and after weaning (PN16) as compared with that of weight. Since approximately two-fold increases were observed in the growth rates of weight and head and body length in the second stage of postnatal development (PN16-adult) compared with the rates during the first stage (PN0-PN16), both showed dynamic changes during the postnatal development in this species. Typically, r-strategic house mouse appeared to be more similar in early morphological development to comparatively K-strategic Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse, than to comparatively r-strategic golden hamster. Nevertheless, growth rate and pattern were different in the three species after birth. Hence, results showed that peculiarities of association between an ontogenetic pattern and a tendency in reproductive strategy can differ in diverse groups of myomorph rodents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brush-tailed mice, family Calomyscidae, are endemic to southwestern Asia and are represented by eight described species and three additional lineages. Although this family includes only a single genus, Calomyscus, in which several molecular phylogenies were recovered as a monophyletic clade, no updated evolutionary survey has been undertaken until now. We present a time-calibrated molecular phylogenetic tree of members of this genus using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. According to our results, divergence of calomyscid species occurred between 5.85 and 3.35 Mya during the Late Miocene and Pliocene. It seems that the species that occur in the eastern part of the range of the family diverged earlier (highest posterior density (HPD) 3.95–7.28 Mya) from congeners than those from the western part (HPD 2.18–4.24 Mya). Furthermore, we provide new insights on a poorly known species, C. grandis, endemic to the Elburz Mountains, including its phylogeny, morphology (geometric morphometric, karyology, and traditional morphometric methods), and distribution. Our findings show greater haplotype diversity than previously reported and extend the known range of C. grandis in northern Iran. Molecular data detects the existence of an additional distinct lineage from the Zagros Mountains, which appears to be differentiated from other lineages of Calomyscus at levels observed between species. Morphologically, compared to other species, the new lineage is the largest brush-tailed mouse and shows a number of remarkable differences in cranial features (e.g., widest cranium and highest mandible) with chromosomal component 2n = 44 and FNa = 62. Higher species diversity of calomyscids around the Iranian Plateau may be the result of geological events and the subsequent aridification during the Pliocene. The Lut Desert and the Zagros Mountains provided barriers and refugal habitat, respectively, that likely contributed to speciation events within the genus. Additional sampling may discover more distinct lineages in the Zagros Mountains or Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bicolored shrew Crocidura leucodon consists of two phylogeographic lineages which diverged during the Middle Pleistocene and are roughly separated by the Bosporus Strait at the contact point of Europe and Asia Minor. In this study we analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b genes (1137 bp) of nine shrews from the Caspian region in Iran. Phylogenetic trees obtained in Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses retrieved a sister position of our Iranian haplotypes (Iranian lineage) against all the remaining C. leucodon samples from Europe, Turkey and Georgia (Euro-Asian lineage). Identical topology was also evident from the unrooted phylogenetic network. The Euro-Asian and the Iranian lineages were separated by a K2P genetic distance of 7.5 ± 0.9 and diverged 1.14 Mya (95% CI: 0.841–1.616). The geographic range of the Iranian lineage is evidently restricted to the Hyrcanian region south of the Caspian Sea which abounds with small range mammalian endemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this survey, rodents and their endoparasites were investigated in the Jaz Murian depression and adjacent areas, southeast Iran. In total, 146 specimens of rodents belong to 13 species were trapped. In general, 10 different genera of endoparasites including 11 species were collected. The endoparasites were identified as follows: (1) Nematodes: Trichuris muris, Syphacia obvelata, Labiostomum sp., Labiostomum naimi, Mastrophorus muris, Aspicularis tetraptera and Heligmosomoides skrjabini, Physaloptera sp. (2) Cestodes: Choanotaenia sp., Raillietina sp., and Hymenolepis diminuta. Of 146 captured rodents, Tatera indica was found with high parasitic infestation (with 93% infested) comparing to Acomys dimidiatus (66%), Rattus rattus (50%), Meriones libycus (15%), Jaculus blanfordi (14%) and Mus musculus (8%) whereas, seven rodent species, Nesokia indica, Gerbillus nanus, Golunda ellioti, Calomyscus hotsoni, Apodemus witherbyi, Cricetulus migratorius and Microtus mystacinus were free from any parasitic infestation. Those six infested rodent species were collected from the center of the Jaz Murian depression, whereas seven non-infested rodents' species except N. indica and G. nanus live in the marginal ranges of the Jaz Murian depression, therefore, these species inhabiting the central parts were supposed to be more important from the health aspect. The species, Labiostomum naimi collected from A. dimidiatus is the first report of this species in rodents from Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogeography and taxonomy of Afghan pikas Ochotona rufescens in Western Asia were investigated based on a combination of mitochondrial cyt b gene sequences and morphometric analyses. We measured 200 specimens from the whole range of O. rufescens in Western Asia, including the holotypes of O. r. regina , O. r. shukurovi , O. r. vulturna , O. r. vizier and samples from vicinity of the type locality of O. r. rufescens . Principal Component and Factor analyses did not reveal any notable geographical variations. The phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial cyt b sequence data from 72 specimens of Afghan pikas included six topotypes of three of the recognized subspecies and revealed that divergence between most populations is shallow. The major genetic divergence lay between the samples from Afghanistan and other populations. Previously unrecognized lineages of Afghan pikas were identified in Central Alborz and central east Iran. We demonstrated minor divergence between O. r. regina from Kopet Dagh Mountains, and O. r. shukurovi from the Great Balkhan Mountains, indicating a recent divergence between these two populations. We hypothesize that Pleistocene climate fluctuations in Western Asia are responsible for the diversification in O. rufescens , but that adverse local edaphic conditions in the lowlands may have largely prevented dispersal during glacial periods, thus making dispersal events more infrequent than for comparable populations of pikas in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood mice of the genus Apodemus are widely distributed in Eurasia, with the Eastern Mediterranean being considered as a hotspot. Indeed, numerous species have been documented in Iran, including A. witherbyi, A. hyrcanicus, A. uralensis, A. avicennicus, A. hermonensis, and A. arianus. In this study, 129 specimens were collected from different Iranian localities and two specimens from Afghanistan. The animals were identified taxonomically and their phylogenetic relationships were investigated using cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequences. Five species of the genus Apodemus were identified in Iran, including A. hyrcanicus, A. witherbyi, A. cf. ponticus, A. uralensis, and A. mystacinus, beside , A. pallipes from Afghanistan . This study found no evidence of A. flavicollis or A. sylvaticus in Iran, despite their occurrence in Turkey, shedding doubt on the status of A. flavicollis in Iran, Asia Minor, and the Levant. Phylogenetic analyses imply that A. witherbyi has priority over A. avicennicus, A. hermonensis, and A. iconicus. Estimation of the divergence time for these taxa suggests a separation at around 7.2 Ma for the subgenera Karstomys (including A. mystacinus and A. epimelas) and Sylvaemus (including A. flavicollis, A. sylvaticus, A. uralensis, A. pallipes, A. hyrcanicus, A. witherbyi, and A. cf. ponticus). Within the subgenus Karstomys, the divergence times for A. mystacinus and A. epimelas were between 3.0 and 6.1 Ma, and divergence times within the subgenus Sylvaemus were between 5.2 and 6.9 Ma for A. witherbyi and other species in this subgenus. It is postulated that vicariance events including the uplifting of the Zagros Mountains and Anatolian Plateau in the middle Miocene and climate oscillations during the Messinian Salinity Crisis besides formation of the Hyrcanian tertiary forests during the Neogene probably played substantial roles in the radiation and distribution of the genus Apodemus in the Eastern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qazvin vole Microtus qazvinensis, an endemic species of Iran, shows an obvious similarity in both morphological and karyological traits to other members of the ' guentheri' species group. Such similarities challenge the species status of this taxon. In this study, the relationships of social voles, and in particular M. qazvinensis, were reevaluated based on phylogeny of the mitochondrial gene for cytochrome b and morphological, karyological, and morphometric data. The Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood trees showed the same topology. The genetic distance between the sister species M. qazvinensis (Iran) and Microtus dogramacii (Turkey) was 2.8 %, which is comparable to other sister taxa pairs within Microtus. We confirmed that M. qazvinensis, while having a close relationship to M. dogramacii on molecular trees, shows differences to other species from the guentheri group. As a result, our data support the taxonomic position of M. qazvinensis as a valid species, found in a separate geographical region, within the guentheri group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]