Phylogenetic position of the presumably extinct slender-billed curlew, Numenius tenuirostris

• Main Authors: Sharko, Fedor S., Boulygina, Eugenia S., Rastorguev, Sergey M., Tsygankova, Svetlana V., Tomkovich, Pavel S., Nedoluzhko, Artem V.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2019
• Subjects: Genetics; FOS Biological sciences; Molecular Biology; Evolutionary Biology; 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; Ecology; 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Eurasian Curlew
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7976366; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/Phylogenetic_position_of_the_presumably_extinct_slender-billed_curlew_i_Numenius_tenuirostris_i_/7976366

The high-capacity DNA analysis of museum samples opens new opportunities, associated with the investigation of extinct species evolution. Here, the complete mitochondrial genome of the presumably extinct bird species, the slender-billed curlew Numenius tenuirostris (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae) is presented. Our results showed that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is 16,705 base pairs (bp) in length and contain 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. The overall base composition of the genome is 30.8% – A, 29.8% – C, 25.4% – T, 14.0% – G, and without a significant GC bias of 43.7%. Phylogenetic analyses based on the cytochrome B ( cytB ) gene and the whole mtDNA sequences revealed that N. tenuirostris had a close genetic relationship to Eurasian curlew ( N. arquata ), Far Eastern curlew ( N. madagascariensis ), and long-billed curlew – N. americanus . Besides, it reveals that Numenius genus is genetically distant from other Scolopacidae taxons. Together, these results provide a clear genetic perspective into the speciation process among the curlew genus members and points to a clear taxonomic position of N. tenuirostris .