Geological and Pleistocene glaciations explain the demography and disjunct distribution of red panda (A. fulgens) in eastern Himalayas.

ABSTRACT: Pleistocene glaciations facilitated climatic oscillations that caused for enormous heterogeneity in landscapes, and consequently affected demography and distribution patterns of the mountain endemic species. In this context, we investigated demographic history and population genetic structure of red panda, distributed along the geographical proximity in the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Bayesian based phylogeny demonstrated that red panda diverged about 0.30 million years ago (CI 0.23-0.39) into two phylogenetic (sub) species, that correspond to the middle-late Pleistocene transition. The observed intraspecific clades with respect to Himalayan and Chinese red panda indicated restricted gene flow resulting from the Pleistocene glaciations in the eastern and southern Tibetan

SUBMITTER: Dalui S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7794540 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature