Molecular phylogeographic analyses and species delimitations reveal that Leopoldamys edwardsi (Rodentia: Muridae) is a species complex.

Leopoldamys edwardsi is a species with wide distribution ranges in southern China but is not discussed in studies on geographic variation and species differentiation. We used 2 mitochondrial (Cytb, CO1) and 3 nuclear (GHR, IRBP and RAG1) genes to clarify species phylogeography and geographical differentiation. Maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian phylogenetic inference (BI) trees consistently indicated that L. edwardsi is a species complex containing 3 main lineages with high Kimura-2-parameter (K2P) divergences (i.e. lineages L , L and L ) found in the northern and southern China and Hainan Island, respectively. The 3 species delimitation methods, automated barcoding gap discovery, Bayesian poisson tree process analysis and Bayesian phylogenetics and phylogeography, consistently supported the existence of cryptic species. Divergence times among the main lineages were inferred to be during the Pleistocene, with L /L split at 1.33 Ma and L /(L +L ) at 2.61 Ma; the diversifications of L. edwardsi complex might be caused by the rapid uplifts of Tibetan Plateau, paleoclimate change and complex topography. The divergence between L and L was probably related to the separation of Hainan Island from the mainland via the formation of the Qiongzhou Strait. Lineages L and (L +L ) likely diverged due to the Wuyi-Nanling mountain range forming a dispersal barrier. Our results suggested that L. edwardsi complex contains at least 3 distinct species: L represents L. hainanensis, endemic to Hainan Island and previously considered as a subspecies L. e. hainanensis; L represents a cryptic species distributed throughout the southern Chinese continent; and L represents the nominotypical species L. edwardsi.