Talk:Degu

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[edit] Degu Reclassification

The Degu may need to be reclassified. According to the sites listed below, the Degu is actually a lagomorph (ie rabbit, pika) and not a rodent. - M.Neko

http://www.expage.com/degudugout

http://www.napak.com/the_contreversial_degu.html

This issue is mentioned on the page about the family to which the degu belongs, Octodontidae (since it is the whole family, or at least a large chunk of it, that would have to be reclassified, not just the common degu) - though it probably needs mentioning on this page too since Octodon degu is much the best known member of the family. We could do with a reference to the molecular systematics work that underlies this suggestion - the web sites listed above don't give the authority, and I have been able to run it to earth, though a number of recent scientific papers refer to the degu as now being thought of as a lagomorph. Does anyone know where the evidence is to be found? seglea 23:21, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't think the statement belongs in either article. I have a hard time accepting pet fancy websites with bad MIDI and poor spelling as legitimate alternatives to numerous primary morphological, molecular, and paleontological sources that not only support their inclusion in Rodentia, but also well nested in the order in Hystricomorpha, Hystricognathi, Caviomorpha, and Octodontoidea. Huchon and Catzflis, 2002; Opazo, 2005; and something involving Rowe and Honeycutt are all molecular studies that support the octodontids positioned as I've just mentioned. --Aranae 01:34, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree that the websites listed above are not evidence at all, except that the suggestion is out there. I think the Rowe/Honeycutt paper you're referring to is probably Honeycutt et al (2003). However that does not do much with the location of Octodontoidea - it is more concerned with its internal relationships. Opazo (2005) and Huchon et al (2002) (is this the one you refer to?) are much better evidence. My problem is with papers such as Poeggel et al (2003), from perfectly respectable sources, which refer without comment to, "...the precocious lagomorph Octodon degus". Where are they getting this from? I can't get at the full text of that or other articles that say the same at the moment to see if they source it. However, looking at them more carefully, I see that (a) they all involve the same group (K. Braun seems to be the consistent figure); also (b) they are by neuroscientists not specialist taxonomists, so they may just have picked the idea up from somewhere non-authoritative. It would be good to track the idea down to its root, though. Meanwhile I will amend the pages to be sceptical, if you haven't already done so. seglea 18:31, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References

• Dupouy, V., Puget, A., Eschalier, A., & Zajac, J. M. (1996). Species differences in the localization of neuropeptide FF receptors in rodent and lagomorph brain and spinal cord. Peptides, 17, 399-405.
• Honeycutt, R. L., Rowe, D. L., & Gallardo, M. H. (2003). Molecular systematics of the South American caviomorph rodents: relationships among species and genera in the family Octodontidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 26, 476-489.
• Huchon, D., Madsen, O., Sibbald, M. J. J. B., Ament, K., Stanhope, M. J., Catzeflis, F. et al (2002). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19, 1053-1065.
• Opazo, J. C. (2005). A molecular timescale for caviomorph rodents (Mammalia, Hystricognathi). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37, 932-937.
• Poeggel, G., Nowicki, L., & Braun, K. (2003). Early social deprivation alters monoaminergic afferents in the orbital prefrontal cortex of Octodon degus. Neuroscience, 116, 617-620.