87Sr/86Sr and 14C evidence for peccary (Tayassuidae) introduction challenges accepted historical interpretation of the 1657 Ligon map of Barbados.

ABSTRACT: Contemporary West Indian biodiversity has been shaped by two millennia of non-native species introductions. Understanding the dynamics of this process and its legacy across extended temporal and spatial scales requires accurate knowledge of introduction timing and the species involved. Richard Ligon's 17th century account and celebrated map of early colonial Barbados records the translocation of several Old World species to the island in the post-contact era, including pigs (Sus scrofa) believed to have been released by passing sailors the century prior. Here we challenge this long-accepted historical narrative, presenting evidence that Ligon's "pigs" were in fact peccaries, a New World continental mammal often confused with wild boars. We document the first recorded instance of non-native

SUBMITTER: Giovas CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6516659 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature