Matthias Meyer, Eleftheria Palkopoulou, Sina Isabelle Baleka, Mathias Stiller, Kirsty E. H. Penkman, Kurt W. Alt, Yasuko Ishida, Dietrich Mania, Swapan Mallick, Tom Meijer, Harald Meller, Sarah Nagel, Birgit Nickel, Sven Ostritz, Nadin Rohland, Karol Schauer, Tim Schüler, Alfred L. Roca, David Reich, Beth Shapiro, Michael Hofreiter
- The straight-tusked elephants Palaeoloxodon spp. were widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene. Phylogenetic reconstructions using morphological traits have grouped them with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), and many paleontologists place Palaeoloxodon within Elephas. Here, we report the recovery of full mitochondrial genomes from four and partial nuclear genomes from two P. antiquus fossils. These fossils were collected at two sites in Germany, Neumark-Nord and Weimar-Ehringsdorf, and likely date to interglacial periods similar to 120 and similar to 244 thousand years ago, respectively. Unexpectedly, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses suggest that P. antiquus was a close relative of extant African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis). Species previously referred to Palaeoloxodon are thus most parsimoniously explained as having diverged from the lineage of Loxodonta, indicating that Loxodonta has not been constrained to Africa. Our results demonstrate that the current picture of elephant evolution is in need ofThe straight-tusked elephants Palaeoloxodon spp. were widespread across Eurasia during the Pleistocene. Phylogenetic reconstructions using morphological traits have grouped them with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), and many paleontologists place Palaeoloxodon within Elephas. Here, we report the recovery of full mitochondrial genomes from four and partial nuclear genomes from two P. antiquus fossils. These fossils were collected at two sites in Germany, Neumark-Nord and Weimar-Ehringsdorf, and likely date to interglacial periods similar to 120 and similar to 244 thousand years ago, respectively. Unexpectedly, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses suggest that P. antiquus was a close relative of extant African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis). Species previously referred to Palaeoloxodon are thus most parsimoniously explained as having diverged from the lineage of Loxodonta, indicating that Loxodonta has not been constrained to Africa. Our results demonstrate that the current picture of elephant evolution is in need of substantial revision.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Matthias MeyerORCiD, Eleftheria Palkopoulou, Sina Isabelle BalekaORCiDGND, Mathias StillerGND, Kirsty E. H. PenkmanORCiD, Kurt W. AltGND, Yasuko Ishida, Dietrich ManiaGND, Swapan Mallick, Tom Meijer, Harald MellerGND, Sarah Nagel, Birgit Nickel, Sven OstritzGND, Nadin RohlandORCiD, Karol Schauer, Tim SchülerGND, Alfred L. RocaORCiD, David ReichORCiD, Beth ShapiroORCiD, Michael HofreiterORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-440139 |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-44013 |
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ISSN: | 1866-8372 |
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Title of parent work (German): | Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe |
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Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (790) |
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Publication type: | Postprint |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2019/12/10 |
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Publication year: | 2017 |
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Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
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Release date: | 2019/12/10 |
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Tag: | African elephants; DNA; Palaeoloxodon-antiquus; Pleistocene; alignment; ancient; genome sequence; phylogenetic analysis; reveal; woolly mammoth |
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Issue: | 790 |
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Number of pages: | 14 |
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Source: | eLife 6 (2017) Art. e25413 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.25413 |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 50 Naturwissenschaften / 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik |
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| 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 60 Technik / 600 Technik, Technologie |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access |
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License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
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