Tropical ancient DNA reveals relationships of the extinct Bahamian giant tortoise Chelonoidis alburyorum.

ABSTRACT: Ancient DNA of extinct species from the Pleistocene and Holocene has provided valuable evolutionary insights. However, these are largely restricted to mammals and high latitudes because DNA preservation in warm climates is typically poor. In the tropics and subtropics, non-avian reptiles constitute a significant part of the fauna and little is known about the genetics of the many extinct reptiles from tropical islands. We have reconstructed the near-complete mitochondrial genome of an extinct giant tortoise from the Bahamas (Chelonoidis alburyorum) using an approximately 1 000-year-old humerus from a water-filled sinkhole (blue hole) on Great Abaco Island. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses place this extinct species as closely related to Galápagos (C. niger complex) and Chaco torto

SUBMITTER: Kehlmaier C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5247498 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature