Phylogeography of the small Indian civet and origin of introductions to western Indian Ocean islands

The biogeographic dynamics affecting the Indian subcontinent, East and Southeast Asia during the Plio-Pleistocene has generated complex biodiversity patterns. We assessed the molecular biogeography of the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) through mitogenome and cytochrome b + control region sequencing of 89 historical and modern samples to (i) establish a time-calibrated phylogeography across the species’ native range and (ii) test introduction scenarios to western Indian Ocean islands. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses identified three geographic lineages (East Asia, sister-group to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent + northern Indochina) diverging 3.2 – 2.3 Mya, with no clear signature of past demographic expansion. Within Southeast Asia, Balinese populations separated from the rest 2.6 – 1.3 Mya. Western Indian Ocean populations were assigned to the Indian subcontinent + northern Indochina lineage and had the lowest mitochondrial diversity. Approximate Bayesian computation...