Brown hyena (<i>Parahyaena brunnea</i>) from the Pleistocene of Kenya

Werdelin, Lars; Barthelme, John

doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10011025

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The brown hyena is known to have had a more extensive range, with Middle Pleistocene fossils having been found in Kenya ( Werdelin and Barthelme 1997 ) and other putative brown hyena fossils found as far north as Ethiopia ( Werdelin and Solounias 1991 ). The continuous decrease in effective population size and low levels of genomic diversity seen today may have occurred due to a variety of factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extended and Continuous Decline in Effective Population Size Results in Low Genomic Diversity in the World’s Rarest Hyena Species, the Brown Hyena

Westbury

Hartmann

Barlow

et al. 2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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Hyenas (family Hyaenidae), as the sister group to cats (family Felidae), represent a deeply diverging branch within the cat-like carnivores (Feliformia). With an estimated population size of <10,000 individuals worldwide, the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) represents the rarest of the four extant hyena species and has been listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Here, we report a high-coverage genome from a captive bred brown hyena and both mitochondrial and low-coverage nuclear genomes of 14 wild-caught brown hyena individuals from across southern Africa. We find that brown hyena harbor extremely low genetic diversity on both the mitochondrial and nuclear level, most likely resulting from a continuous and ongoing decline in effective population size that started ∼1 Ma and dramatically accelerated towards the end of the Pleistocene. Despite the strikingly low genetic diversity, we find no evidence of inbreeding within the captive bred individual and reveal phylogeographic structure, suggesting the existence of several potential subpopulations within the species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extended and Continuous Decline in Effective Population Size Results in Low Genomic Diversity in the World’s Rarest Hyena Species, the Brown Hyena

Westbury

Hartmann

Barlow

et al. 2018

Molecular Biology and Evolution

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“…4). The brown hyena is known to have once had a more extensive range, with Middle Pleistocene fossils having been found in Kenya (Werdelin and Barthelme 1997). The continuous decrease in effective population size and low levels of genomic diversity seen today may have occurred with the shrinking of suitable habitats during the Pleistocene (deMenocal 2004) and potentially coincided with the migration of new competitors, such as jackals, into Africa .…”

Section: Genomic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Population and conservation genomics of the world's rarest hyena species, the brown hyena (Parahyena brunnea)

Westbury

Hartmann

Barlow

et al. 2017

Preprint

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With an estimated population size of less than 10,000 individuals worldwide, the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) has been listed as 'near threatened' by the IUCN. Despite this rank, studies involving DNA analyses of the brown hyena are limited. Little consideration has been focussed towards population structure within the brown hyena, which could provide valuable insights about its evolutionary history and aid in conservation efforts of the species.Here we report both mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of wild-caught brown hyena individuals from across southern Africa. Mitochondrial DNA shows little to no phylogeographic structure, whereas low-coverage nuclear genomes reveal several potential sub-populations. Moreover, we find that brown hyenas harbour the lowest genetic diversity for a species on both the mitochondrial and nuclear level when compared to a number of mammalian species for which such information is currently available. Our data also reveal that at least on the nuclear DNA level, this low diversity could be the result of a continuous and ongoing decline in effective population size that started about one million years ago and dramatically accelerated towards the end of the Pleistocene. Moreover, our findings also show that the correlation between genetic diversity and the perceived risk of extinction is not particularly strong, since many species with higher genetic diversity than the brown hyena are considered to be at greater risk of extinction.Taken together, our results have important implications for the conservation status and conservation approaches of the brown hyena.

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“…Barry, 1987). Referral to Parahyaena becomes more plausible with the identification of the living brown hyena in the middle Pleistocene of Kenya (Werdelin & Barthelme, 1997). The brown hyena is presently known only from southern and south‐western Africa.…”

Section: The Carnivoran Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plio-Pleistocene Carnivora of eastern Africa: species richness and turnover patterns

Werdelin

Lewis

2005

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

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183

110

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This paper presents an up‐to‐date and detailed overview of the Plio‐Pleistocene fossil record of Carnivora in eastern Africa. Major events in the carnivoran lineages present in the region are discussed and stratigraphic ranges of all species‐level taxa are provided. The compiled data are used for quantitative analyses of species richness and turnover. Sampling is considered to be adequate for the interval 3.6–1.5 Mya, and poorer in the half‐million‐year time slices before and after this interval. Species richness peaks around 3.6–3.0 Mya and declines gradually from that time until the end of the time period analysed. Calculation of origination and extinction rates indicate that there are two peaks of origination: at 3.9–3.3 Mya (although the earlier half of this interval is biased through poor sampling) and at 2.1–1.8 Mya. The origination rate is zero in the interval 3.0–2.4 Mya. The extinction rate peaks at around 3.0 Mya after which it falls slightly, remaining nearly constant until 1.8 Mya, after which it increases considerably. The data support the hypothesis that the modern carnivoran guild of eastern Africa originated relatively recently, mostly within the last million years. There is no support in these data for a turnover pulse in Carnivora between 3 and 2 Mya. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 144, 121–144.

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Brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) from the Pleistocene of Kenya

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Extended and Continuous Decline in Effective Population Size Results in Low Genomic Diversity in the World’s Rarest Hyena Species, the Brown Hyena

Extended and Continuous Decline in Effective Population Size Results in Low Genomic Diversity in the World’s Rarest Hyena Species, the Brown Hyena

Population and conservation genomics of the world's rarest hyena species, the brown hyena (Parahyena brunnea)

Plio-Pleistocene Carnivora of eastern Africa: species richness and turnover patterns

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