No longer locally extinct? Tracing the origins of a lion (Panthera leo) living in Gabon

• DOI: 10.1007/s10592-017-1039-2
• Publication Date: 2018-02-01T08:47:48Z
• Authors: Ross Barnett; Mikkel-Holder S. ...; Filipe G. Vieira; Marie Lisandra Ze...; Matthieu Bonnet; Alessandro Araldi; Ivonne Kienast; Alice Zambarda; Nobuyuki Yamaguchi; Philipp Henschel; M. Thomas P. Gilbert
• Keywords: Ancient DNA; Extinct species

Lions (Panthera leo) are of particular conservation concern due to evidence recent, widespread population declines in what has hitherto been seen as a common species, robust anthropogenic disturbance. Here we use non-invasive methods recover complete mitochondrial genomes from single hair samples collected the field order explore identity Gabonese Plateaux Batéké lion. Comparison mitogenomes against comprehensive dataset African lion sequences that includes relevant geographically proximate populations both contemporary and ancient sources, enabled us identify close maternal relative now extirpated found Gabon nearby Congo during twentieth century, extant Southern Africa. Our study demonstrates relevance DNA work, ability trace provide copious genetic information about free-ranging animals.