Biogeography and taxonomy of extinct and endangered monk seals illuminated by ancient DNA and skull morphology.

ABSTRACT: Extinctions and declines of large marine vertebrates have major ecological impacts and are of critical concern in marine environments. The Caribbean monk seal, Monachus tropicalis, last definitively reported in 1952, was one of the few marine mammal species to become extinct in historical times. Despite its importance for understanding the evolutionary biogeography of southern phocids, the relationships of M. tropicalis to the two living species of critically endangered monk seals have not been resolved. In this study we present the first molecular data for M. tropicalis, derived from museum skins. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b sequences indicates that M. tropicalis was more closely related to the Hawaiian rather than the Mediterranean monk seal. Divergence time estimation implicat

SUBMITTER: Scheel DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4042687 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature