Complex reticulate evolution of the speckled brush-furred rats (Lophuromys) in the Ethiopian centre of endemism

The Ethiopian highlands represent a remarkable biodiversity “hotspot” with a very high number of endemic species, even among vertebrates. Ethiopian representatives of a species complex of speckled brush-furred rats (Lophuromys flavopunctatus sensu lato) inhabit highland habitats ranging from low-elevation forests to Afroalpine grasslands. These may serve as a suitable model for understanding evolutionary processes leading to high genetic and ecological diversity in montane biodiversity hot-spots. Here, we analyze the most comprehensive genetic dataset of this group, comprising 315 specimens (all nine putative Ethiopian Lophuromys taxa sampled acrysross most of their distribution ranges) genotyped at one mitochondrial and four nuclear markers, and thousands of SNPs from ddRAD sequencing. We performed phylogenetic analyses, delimited species and mapped their distribution and estimated  divergence time between species (under the species-tree framework) and mitochondrial lineages. We found ...