Comparative phylogeography biogeography of forest-dependent mammals reveals paleo-forest corridors throughout Sundaland

The evolutionary history of the colugo, a gliding arboreal mammal distributed throughout Sundaland, was influenced by the location of and connections between forest habitats. By comparing colugo phylogenetic patterns, species ecology, sample distributions, and times of divergence to those of other Sundaic taxa with different life history traits and dispersal capabilities, we inferred the probable distribution of paleo-forest corridors. We identified a consistent pattern of early diversification between east and west Bornean lineages in colugos, lesser mouse deer, and Sunda pangolins. This phylogenetic pattern has not been commonly described in mammals, and we found no evidence for this pattern in the greater mouse deer. Colugos on West Borneo diverged from colugos in Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra in the late Pliocene, however most other mammalian populations distributed across these same geographic regions diverged from a common ancestor more recently in the Pleistocene. Low genetic d...