Identifying the true number of specimens of the extinct blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus).

ABSTRACT: Native to southern Africa, the blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) is the only large African mammal species known to have become extinct in historical times. However, it was poorly documented prior to its extinction ~ 1800 AD, and many of the small number of museum specimens attributed to it are taxonomically contentious. This places limitations on our understanding of its morphology, ecology, and the mechanisms responsible for its demise. We retrieved genetic information from ten of the sixteen putative blue antelope museum specimens using both shotgun sequencing and mitochondrial genome target capture in an attempt to resolve the uncertainty surrounding the identification of these specimens. We found that only four of the ten investigated specimens, and not a single skull, represent

SUBMITTER: Hempel E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7822880 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature