Muntjac deer (Cervidae: Muntiacus) are often cited as an excellent model for the study of vertebrate evolution due to their fast rate of change in chromosome number among vertebrates. However, the phylogenetic relationships within Muntiacus generally, and the taxonomic status of Muntiacus gongshanensis specifically, remain unclear. Here, the phylogenetic relationships within Muntiacus were studied using mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) and cytochrome b (cyt b) segments. Our results recognize 12 species within Muntiacus and support the controversial species M. gongshanensis, M. putaoensis, and M. malabaricus. Furthermore, Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum-likelihood (ML) approaches revealed M. gongshanensis and M. crinifrons to be closely related species, with M. feae as their sister species, and M. putaoensis and M. truongsonensis to be closely related, with M. rooseveltorum as their sister species. The distribution range of M. gongshanensis was also confirmed in southwest China (Namdapha, Modong, Zayu and Gongshan) and northern Myanmar (Putao). The results of this study provide insight into the evolution of Muntiacus and further provide a molecular basis for the taxonomic evaluation of the genus in the future and fundamental data for the conservation of M. gongshanensis.
麂属（ Muntiacus）动物的染色体数量变化速率在脊椎动物中是最快的，因此麂属是研究脊椎动物进化的理想模型。然而，麂属物种间的系统发育关系，特别是贡山麂的系统分类地位，目前仍然不清楚。因此，该研究利用麂属动物的线粒体基因组和cyt b片段来研究麂属物种的系统发育关系。研究结果确认了麂属的12个物种，支持有争议的物种：贡山麂（ M. gongshanensis）、葡萄麂（ M. putaoensis）和斯里兰卡赤麂（ M. malabaricus）分别为独立有效种。系统发育分析（最大似然法和贝叶斯法）的结果显示：贡山麂与黑麂（ M. crinifrons）的关系最近，其次是菲氏麂（ M. feae）；葡萄麂与安南麂（ M. truongsonensis）的关系最近，其次为罗氏麂（ M. rooseveltorum）。我们的结果证实了贡山麂在中国西南部和缅甸北部均有分布。该研究结果为探索麂属动物的进化提供了理论依据，为今后麂属的分类评估提供了分子基础，也为贡山麂的保护提供了遗传资料。.
Keywords: Mitogenome; Muntiacus; Muntiacus gongshanensis; Phylogeny.