Data from: Phylogenomic reconstruction of sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur) recovered from mitogenomes with inferences for Madagascar biogeography

The family Lepilemuridae includes 26 species of sportive lemurs, most of which were recently described. The cryptic morphological differences confounded taxonomy until recent molecular studies; however, some species’ boundaries remain uncertain. To better understand the genus Lepilemur, we analyzed 35 complete mitochondrial genomes representing all recognized 26 sportive lemur taxa and estimated divergence dates. With our dataset we recovered 25 reciprocally monophyletic lineages, as well as an admixed clade containing Lepilemur mittermeieri and Lepilemur dorsalis. Using modern distribution data, an ancestral area reconstruction and an ecological vicariance analysis were performed to trace the history of diversification and to test biogeographic hypotheses. We estimated the initial split between the eastern and western Lepilemur clades to have occurred in the Miocene. Divergence of most species occurred from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene. The biogeographic patterns recovered in this study were better addressed with a combinatorial approach including climate, watersheds, and rivers. Generally, current climate and watershed hypotheses performed better for western and eastern clades, while speciation of northern clades was not adequately supported using the ecological factors incorporated in this study. Thus, multiple mechanisms likely contributed to the speciation and distribution patterns in Lepilemur.

鼬狐猴科（Lepilemuridae）共包含26种鼬狐猴，其中绝大多数为近年发表的新物种。该类群隐蔽细微的形态差异曾长期困扰分类学研究，直至近年分子生物学研究的推进才得以厘清，但目前仍有部分物种种群的界限尚未明确。
为全面解析鼬狐猴属（Lepilemur）的演化关系，本研究对涵盖全部26个已确认鼬狐猴类群的35条完整线粒体基因组进行了分析，并估算了类群的分化时间。基于本数据集，我们成功恢复出25个互惠单系支系，同时得到一个包含米氏鼬狐猴（Lepilemur mittermeieri）与背纹鼬狐猴（Lepilemur dorsalis）的混合演化支。
结合现代物种分布数据，我们开展了祖先区域重建与生态替代分析，以追溯该属的多样化演化历史，并验证相关生物地理学假说。研究估算显示，东西部鼬狐猴演化支的初始分化事件发生于中新世时期；多数物种种群的分化则集中在上新世至更新世时段。
本研究得到的生物地理分布模式，需结合气候、流域与河流等多维度因素的组合分析才能得到更合理的解释。总体而言，当前气候与流域假说对东西部演化支的分布格局解释效果更佳，而基于本研究纳入的生态因子，尚不足以充分支撑北部演化支的物种形成机制研究。综上，多种演化机制共同促成了鼬狐猴属的物种形成与分布格局。