Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/74885
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | The origins of the enigmatic Falkland Islands wolf |
Author: | Austin, J. Soubrier, J. Prevosti, F. Prates, L. Trejo, V. Mena, F. Cooper, A. |
Citation: | Nature Communications, 2013; 4(1):1-7 |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Issue Date: | 2013 |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
Department: | Faculty of Sciences |
Statement of Responsibility: | Jeremy J. Austin, Julien Soubrier, Francisco J. Prevosti, Luciano Prates, Valentina Trejo, Francisco Mena & Alan Cooper |
Abstract: | The origin of the extinct Falkland Island wolf (FIW), Dusicyon australis, has remained a mystery since it was first recorded by Europeans in the 17th Century. It is the only terrestrial mammal on the Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands) which lie ~460km from Argentina, leading to suggestions of either human-mediated transport or over-water dispersal. Previous studies used ancient DNA from museum specimens to suggest that the FIW diverged from its closest living relative, the South American maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) around 7 Ma, and colonized the islands ~330 ka by unknown means. In contrast, we retrieve ancient DNA from subfossils of an extinct mainland relative, Dusicyon avus, and reveal the FIW lineage became isolated only 16 ka (8-31 ka), during the last glacial phase. Submarine terraces, formed on the Argentine coastal shelf by low sea-stands during this period, suggest that the FIW colonized via a narrow, shallow marine strait, potentially while it was frozen over. |
Keywords: | Animals Wolves Humans DNA, Mitochondrial Base Sequence Geography Time Factors Fossils Falkland Islands Biological Evolution |
Description: | Extent: 7p. |
Rights: | © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. |
DOI: | 10.1038/ncomms2570 |
Grant ID: | ARC |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2570 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 4 Environment Institute Leaders publications Environment Institute publications IPAS publications |
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hdl_74885.pdf | Accepted version | 630.25 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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