This region acts as both a cradle and museum of plant and animal diversity 1, 2. These mountains exhibit prominent altitudinal variations (1000–6000 m) and represent one of the most geologically and ecologically diverse areas in the world 1. The Hengduan Mountains (HDM, approximately 600 thousands km 2) in China is a region located on the eastern and southern edges of the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (QHTP) and is ranked as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspot. These species represent the evolutionary history of montane small mammals in regions that were less affected by the Quaternary climatic changes. andersoni), a middle-high altitude inhabitant. excelsior), an alpine inhabitant, showed larger variations than did those of clade b ( N.
Interestingly, the mean elevation, area and climate of potential habitats of clade a ( N. This pattern differs greatly from classic paradigms of temperate or alpine and holarctic species. Demographic analyses revealed slight recent population decline in Yunnan and south-eastern Tibet, whereas of the populations in Sichuan and of the entire NASC were stable.
In contrast to previous studies that have proposed regional refuges in eastern or southern of the HDM and emphasized the influence of climatic oscillations on local vertebrates, we found that HDM as a whole acted as refuge for the NASC and that the historical range shifts of NASC mainly occurred in the marginal regions.
Here, we sought to explore the biogeographic history of the endemic rat, Niviventer andersoni species complex (NASC), and to understand the long-term persistence of high species diversity in this region. The underlying mechanisms that allow the Hengduan Mountains (HDM), the terrestrial biodiversity centre of China, to harbour high levels of species diversity remain poorly understood.
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