Historical DNA from a rediscovered nineteenth-century paratype reveals genetic continuity of a Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami) population.

ABSTRACT: Past and ongoing human activities have shaped the geographical ranges and diversity of species. New genomic techniques applied to degraded samples, such as those from natural history collections, can uncover the complex evolutionary consequences of human pressures and generate baselines for interpreting magnitudes of species loss or persistence relevant to conservation. Here we integrate mitogenomic data with historical records from a recently rediscovered Bahamian hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami; (FMP Z02816)) specimen at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium (Vermont, USA) to determine when and where the specimen was collected and to place it in a phylogenetic context with specimens that both predate (palaeontological) and postdate (archaeological) human arrival in The Bahamas. We deter

SUBMITTER: LeFebvre MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10130705 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature