53 research outputs found
The mammals of Angola
Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years
ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published
account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough
survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present
a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species
known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic
species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation
of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of
which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and
Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species,
most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to
be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The
mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11
Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data
deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the countryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Reconciling Apparent Conflicts between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Phylogenies in African Elephants
Conservation strategies for African elephants would be advanced by resolution of conflicting claims that they comprise one, two, three or four taxonomic groups, and by development of genetic markers that establish more incisively the provenance of confiscated ivory. We addressed these related issues by genotyping 555 elephants from across Africa with microsatellite markers, developing a method to identify those loci most effective at geographic assignment of elephants (or their ivory), and conducting novel analyses of continent-wide datasets of mitochondrial DNA. Results showed that nuclear genetic diversity was partitioned into two clusters, corresponding to African forest elephants (99.5% Cluster-1) and African savanna elephants (99.4% Cluster-2). Hybrid individuals were rare. In a comparison of basal forest “F” and savanna “S” mtDNA clade distributions to nuclear DNA partitions, forest elephant nuclear genotypes occurred only in populations in which S clade mtDNA was absent, suggesting that nuclear partitioning corresponds to the presence or absence of S clade mtDNA. We reanalyzed African elephant mtDNA sequences from 81 locales spanning the continent and discovered that S clade mtDNA was completely absent among elephants at all 30 sampled tropical forest locales. The distribution of savanna nuclear DNA and S clade mtDNA corresponded closely to range boundaries traditionally ascribed to the savanna elephant species based on habitat and morphology. Further, a reanalysis of nuclear genetic assignment results suggested that West African elephants do not comprise a distinct third species. Finally, we show that some DNA markers will be more useful than others for determining the geographic origins of illegal ivory. These findings resolve the apparent incongruence between mtDNA and nuclear genetic patterns that has confounded the taxonomy of African elephants, affirm the limitations of using mtDNA patterns to infer elephant systematics or population structure, and strongly support the existence of two elephant species in Africa
Otolemur badius, eine neue Art afrikanischer Halbaffen
Volume: 1905Start Page: 277End Page: 27
Die Verbreitung der Beuteltiere auf NeuGuinea mit einigen Bemerkungen \ufcber ihre Einteilung in Untergattungen
Volume: 8Start Page: 257End Page: 30
cber geographische Abarten des afrikanischen Elefanten
Volume: 1900Start Page: 189End Page: 19
cber eine kleine Sammlung von S\ue4ugethieren und Reptilien, welche Herr L. Conradt aus Usambara (Deutsch Ostafrika) heimgebracht hat
Volume: 1892Start Page: 101End Page: 11
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