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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">102</journal-id>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="index">urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:73abe0ce-d97c-5d7c-bee5-b8e6e6fe6a17</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title xml:lang="en">ARPHA Preprints</journal-title>
        <abbrev-journal-title xml:lang="en">preprints</abbrev-journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Pensoft Publishers</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3897/arphapreprints.e72208</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">72208</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Research Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="biological_taxon">
          <subject>Carnivora</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="scientific_subject">
          <subject>Taxonomy</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="geographical_area">
          <subject>Asia</subject>
          <subject>Far East</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Status emendation of <italic>Mustela aistoodonnivalis </italic>(Mustelidae: Carnivora) based on molecular phylogenetic and morphology</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group content-type="authors">
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Liu</surname>
            <given-names>Yingxun</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">kunrei@163.com</email>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Pu</surname>
            <given-names>Yingting</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Wang</surname>
            <given-names>Xuming</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A2">2</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Wang</surname>
            <given-names>Xin</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A2">2</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Liao</surname>
            <given-names>Rui</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="no">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Tang</surname>
            <given-names>Keyi</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A1">1</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Shunde</surname>
            <given-names>Chen</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">csd111@126.com</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A3">3</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Yue</surname>
            <given-names>Bisong</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">bsyue@126.com</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A4">4</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Shaoying</surname>
            <given-names>Liu</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:type="simple">shaoyliu@163.com</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="A5">5</xref>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <aff id="A1">
        <label>1</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China</addr-line>
        <institution>College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Chengdu</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A2">
        <label>2</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Sihcuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu, China</addr-line>
        <institution>Sihcuan Academy of Forestry</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Chengdu</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A3">
        <label>3</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China</addr-line>
        <institution>Sichuan Normal University</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Chengdu</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A4">
        <label>4</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China</addr-line>
        <institution>College of Life Science, Sichuan University</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Chengdu</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="A5">
        <label>5</label>
        <addr-line content-type="verbatim">Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu, China</addr-line>
        <institution>Sichuan Academy of Forestry</institution>
        <addr-line content-type="city">Chengdu</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <author-notes>
        <fn fn-type="corresp">
          <p>Corresponding authors: Yingxun Liu (<email xlink:type="simple">kunrei@163.com</email>), Chen Shunde (<email xlink:type="simple">csd111@126.com</email>), Bisong Yue (<email xlink:type="simple">bsyue@126.com</email>), Liu Shaoying (<email xlink:type="simple">shaoyliu@163.com</email>).</p>
        </fn>
        <fn fn-type="edited-by">
          <p>Academic editor: </p>
        </fn>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date pub-type="collection">
        <year>2021</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>27</day>
        <month>07</month>
        <year>2021</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>1</volume>
      <uri content-type="arpha" xlink:href="http://openbiodiv.net/5DE6A537-D4D5-5192-9405-A196585F2BD1">5DE6A537-D4D5-5192-9405-A196585F2BD1</uri>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received">
          <day>26</day>
          <month>07</month>
          <year>2021</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>26</day>
          <month>07</month>
          <year>2021</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>Yingxun Liu, Yingting Pu, Xuming Wang, Xin Wang, Rui Liao, Keyi Tang, Chen Shunde, Bisong Yue, Liu Shaoying</copyright-statement>
        <license license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple">
          <license-p>This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <label>Abstract</label>
        <p>The missing-toothed pygmy weasel, <italic>Mustela aistoodonnivalis </italic>Wu and Kao, 1991, was originally described from Zhouzhi and Zhashui in the Qingling Mountains in Shaanxi province, China. Subsequently it was considered a subspecies of <italic>M. nivalis.</italic> During a faunal survey of northwest Sichuan, some specimens of <italic>M. aistoodonnivalis</italic> were collected. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that <italic>M. aistoodonnivalis</italic> formed a distinct clade that was sister to <italic>M. eriminea</italic> based on one mitochondrial gene and six nuclear genes. Morphologically, there was an obvious difference between <italic>M. aistoodonnivalis </italic>and <italic>M. nivalis,</italic> especially the lack of the second lower molar. Geometric morphology studies and species delimitation analysis revealed the valid species status of <italic>M. aistoodonnivalis</italic>. In summary, we confirm that <italic>M. aistoodonnivalis</italic> is an independent species rather than a subspecies of <italic>M. nivalis</italic>, and that it is more closely related to <italic>Mustela eriminea</italic>.</p>
      </abstract>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
