Scaling up morphological differentiation of pangolin scales: Serial, ontogenetic and evolutionary variation.

Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammals in the world, largely because of the high demand for their keratinous scales from the traditional Chinese medicine market. While seizures of pangolin material are largely composed of isolated scales, efficient approaches to reach species-level identification are missing. This mostly originates from the lack of comparative studies on the shape of pangolin scales, resulting in knowledge gaps on the imbricated effects of serial, ontogenetic, and evolutionary variations.

Conservation genetics of the white-bellied pangolin in West Africa: A story of lineage admixture, declining demography, and wide sourcing by urban bushmeat markets.

During the last 40 years, the volumes of African pangolins feeding the illegal wildlife trade have dramatically increased. We conducted a conservation genetics survey of the most traded African species, the white bellied pangolin (WBP; ), across three West African countries including Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana. Our study combining mitochondrial DNA sequencing and microsatellite genotyping is the first to reveal a wide pattern of admixture between two of the six mitochondrial lineages as previously delimited within WBP.

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa's major land uses.

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.

Pangolin Genomes Offer Key Insights and Resources for the World's Most Trafficked Wild Mammals.

Pangolins form a group of scaly mammals that are trafficked at record numbers for their meat and purported medicinal properties. Despite their conservation concern, knowledge of their evolution is limited by a paucity of genomic data. We aim to produce exhaustive genomic resources that include 3,238 orthologous genes and whole-genome polymorphisms to assess the evolution of all eight extant pangolin species.

Genomic analysis reveals a cryptic pangolin species.

Eight extant species of pangolins are currently recognized. Recent studies found that two mitochondrial haplotypes identified in confiscations in Hong Kong could not be assigned to any known pangolin species, implying the existence of a species. Here, we report that two additional mitochondrial haplotypes identified in independent confiscations from Yunnan align with the putative species haplotypes supporting the existence of this mysterious species/population.

Examining the international bushmeat traffic in Belgium: A threat to conservation and public health.

The carriage of bushmeat into the European Union is an infringement of EU Animal Health and Wildlife Trade legislation and poses a threat to biodiversity and public health. To explore the nature and scale of the international bushmeat trade, seized leaking luggage and passengers arriving at Brussels Zaventem airport from sub-Saharan Africa between 2017 and 2018 were searched for "meat" (bushmeat and livestock) by border control authorities. Visual identification, radiography and genetic analysis were applied to derive information from seized specimens, including at least ten CITES-listed species.

The antique genetic plight of the Mediterranean monk seal ().

Disentangling the impact of Late Quaternary climate change from human activities can have crucial implications on the conservation of endangered species. We investigated the population genetics and demography of the Mediterranean monk seal (), one of the world's most endangered marine mammals, through an unprecedented dataset encompassing historical (extinct) and extant populations from the eastern North Atlantic to the entire Mediterranean Basin. We show that Cabo Blanco (Western Sahara/Mauritania), Madeira, Western Mediterranean (historical range) and Eastern Mediterranean regions segregate into four populations.

Warthog Genomes Resolve an Evolutionary Conundrum and Reveal Introgression of Disease Resistance Genes.

African wild pigs have a contentious evolutionary and biogeographic history. Until recently, desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) and common warthog (P. africanus) were considered a single species.

Can DNA help trace the local trade of pangolins? Conservation genetics of white-bellied pangolins from the Dahomey Gap (West Africa).

Background: African pangolins are currently experiencing unprecedented levels of harvesting, feeding both local demands and the illegal international trade. So far, the lack of knowledge on the population genetics of African pangolins has hampered any attempts at assessing their demographic status and tracing their trade at the local scale. We conducted a pioneer study on the genetic tracing of the African pangolin trade in the Dahomey Gap (DG).

Ancient divergence of Indian and Tibetan wolves revealed by recombination-aware phylogenomics.

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) expanded its range across Holarctic regions during the late Pleistocene. Consequently, most grey wolves share recent (<100,000 years ago) maternal origins corresponding to a widespread Holarctic clade. However, two deeply divergent (200,000-700,000 years ago) mitochondrial clades are restricted, respectively, to the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau, where remaining wolves are endangered.

Preservative chemicals as a new health risk related to traditional medicine markets in western Africa.

Health risks associated to the use of tropical wildlife have so far been envisioned through the lens of zoonotic pathogens spread by the bushmeat trade, putting aside the equally vibrant network of traditional medicine markets (TMMs). We collected information on the preservative techniques used for animal body parts from TMMs in Benin through a semi-structured questionnaire addressed to 45 sellers. We show that a recent shift from traditional preservative techniques using harmless treatments towards modern techniques -involving the recurrent use of hazardous chemicals (such as Sniper)- is likely to pose a serious health risk to practitioners and consumers of animal parts from TMMs in Benin.

Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin.

Background: Pangolins are trafficked in unsustainable volumes to feed both local and global trade networks for their meat and the medicinal properties of their derivatives, including scales. We focus on a West African country (Benin) to assess the medicinal and spiritual values of pangolins among different ethnic groups and identify the cohort of buyers involved in the pangolin trade and related economic values along the chain, notably from local diasporas.

Methods: We organised 54 focus groups in villages surrounding occurrence habitats of pangolins across Benin and conducted 35 individual interviews with vendors from five major traditional medicine markets (TMMs).

Development and characterization of 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the white-bellied pangolin Phataginus tricuspis (Mammalia, Pholidota).

Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, have recently been flagshiped as one of the most illegally traded mammals, and as a corollary, as potential intermediate hosts at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to improve the traceability of their trade, we developed 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis), the species most frequently found on African bushmeat markets. We genotyped 24 white-bellied pangolins from the Douala market, Cameroon, originating from the Ebo forest c.

Interspecific Gene Flow Shaped the Evolution of the Genus Canis.

The evolutionary history of the wolf-like canids of the genus Canis has been heavily debated, especially regarding the number of distinct species and their relationships at the population and species level [1-6]. We assembled a dataset of 48 resequenced genomes spanning all members of the genus Canis except the black-backed and side-striped jackals, encompassing the global diversity of seven extant canid lineages. This includes eight new genomes, including the first resequenced Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), one dhole (Cuon alpinus), two East African hunting dogs (Lycaon pictus), two Eurasian golden jackals (Canis aureus), and two Middle Eastern gray wolves (Canis lupus).

The Complete Phylogeny of Pangolins: Scaling Up Resources for the Molecular Tracing of the Most Trafficked Mammals on Earth.

Pangolins, considered the most-trafficked mammals on Earth, are rapidly heading to extinction. Eight extant species of these African and Asian scale-bodied anteaters are commonly recognized, but their evolutionary relationships remain largely unexplored. Here, we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of pangolins, based on genetic variation of complete mitogenomes and 9 nuclear genes.

Phylogeography of the Small Indian Civet and Origin of Introductions to Western Indian Ocean Islands.

The biogeographic dynamics affecting the Indian subcontinent, East and Southeast Asia during the Plio-Pleistocene has generated complex biodiversity patterns. We assessed the molecular biogeography of the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) through mitogenome and cytochrome b + control region sequencing of 89 historical and modern samples to (1) establish a time-calibrated phylogeography across the species' native range and (2) test introduction scenarios to western Indian Ocean islands. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses identified 3 geographic lineages (East Asia, sister-group to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent + northern Indochina) diverging 3.