Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant

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Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant. / Baleka, Sina; Herridge, Victoria L.; Catalano, Giulio et al.
Yn: Current Biology, 23.08.2021.

Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolynErthygladolygiad gan gymheiriaid

HarvardHarvard

Baleka, S, Herridge, VL, Catalano, G, Lister, AM, Dickinson, MR, Di Patti, C, Barlow, A, Penkman, K, Hofreiter, M & Paijmans, J 2021, 'Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant', Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

APA

Baleka, S., Herridge, V. L., Catalano, G., Lister, A. M., Dickinson, M. R., Di Patti, C., Barlow, A., Penkman, K., Hofreiter, M., & Paijmans, J. (2021). Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

CBE

Baleka S, Herridge VL, Catalano G, Lister AM, Dickinson MR, Di Patti C, Barlow A, Penkman K, Hofreiter M, Paijmans J. 2021. Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

MLA

VancouverVancouver

Baleka S, Herridge VL, Catalano G, Lister AM, Dickinson MR, Di Patti C et al. Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant. Current Biology. 2021 Awst 23. Epub 2021 Meh 18. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

Author

Baleka, Sina ; Herridge, Victoria L. ; Catalano, Giulio et al. / Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant. Yn: Current Biology. 2021.

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant

AU - Baleka, Sina

AU - Herridge, Victoria L.

AU - Catalano, Giulio

AU - Lister, Adrian M.

AU - Dickinson, Marc R.

AU - Di Patti, Carolina

AU - Barlow, Axel

AU - Penkman, Kirsty

AU - Hofreiter, Michael

AU - Paijmans, Johanna

PY - 2021/8/23

Y1 - 2021/8/23

N2 - Evolution on islands, together with the often extreme phenotypic changes associated with it, has attracted much interest from evolutionary biologists. However, measuring the rate of change of phenotypic traits of extinct animals can be challenging, in part due to the incompleteness of the fossil record. Here, we use combined molecular and fossil evidence to define the minimum and maximum rate of dwarfing in an extinct Mediterranean dwarf elephant from Puntali Cave (Sicily).1 Despite the challenges associated with recovering ancient DNA from warm climates,2 we successfully retrieved a mitogenome from a sample with an estimated age between 175,500 and 50,000 years. Our results suggest that this specific Sicilian elephant lineage evolved from one of the largest terrestrial mammals that ever lived3 to an island species weighing less than 20% of its original mass with an estimated mass reduction between 0.74 and 200.95 kg and height reduction between 0.15 and 41.49 mm per generation. We show that combining ancient DNA with paleontological and geochronological evidence can constrain the timing of phenotypic changes with greater accuracy than could be achieved using any source of evidence in isolation.

AB - Evolution on islands, together with the often extreme phenotypic changes associated with it, has attracted much interest from evolutionary biologists. However, measuring the rate of change of phenotypic traits of extinct animals can be challenging, in part due to the incompleteness of the fossil record. Here, we use combined molecular and fossil evidence to define the minimum and maximum rate of dwarfing in an extinct Mediterranean dwarf elephant from Puntali Cave (Sicily).1 Despite the challenges associated with recovering ancient DNA from warm climates,2 we successfully retrieved a mitogenome from a sample with an estimated age between 175,500 and 50,000 years. Our results suggest that this specific Sicilian elephant lineage evolved from one of the largest terrestrial mammals that ever lived3 to an island species weighing less than 20% of its original mass with an estimated mass reduction between 0.74 and 200.95 kg and height reduction between 0.15 and 41.49 mm per generation. We show that combining ancient DNA with paleontological and geochronological evidence can constrain the timing of phenotypic changes with greater accuracy than could be achieved using any source of evidence in isolation.

U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.037

M3 - Article

JO - Current Biology

JF - Current Biology

SN - 0960-9822

ER -