No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae)
By means of mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequencing of putative “yeti”, “bigfoot”, and other “anomalous primate” hair samples, a recent study concluded that two samples, presented as from the Himalayas, do not belong to an “anomalous primate”, but to an unknown, anomalous type of ursid. That is, that they...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/4885/ |
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ftpensoft:10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 2023-05-15T18:41:56+02:00 No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) Gutiérrez,Eliécer Pine,Ronald H. 2015 text/html https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/4885/ en eng Pensoft Publishers info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1313-2970 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1313-2989 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ZooKeys 487: 141-154 Mitochondrial DNA phylogenetics Ursus maritimus Ursus arctos Himalayas yeti cryptozoology Research Article 2015 ftpensoft https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 2022-03-01T12:30:23Z By means of mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequencing of putative “yeti”, “bigfoot”, and other “anomalous primate” hair samples, a recent study concluded that two samples, presented as from the Himalayas, do not belong to an “anomalous primate”, but to an unknown, anomalous type of ursid. That is, that they match 12S rRNA sequences of a fossil Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), but neither of modern Polar Bears, nor of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos), the closest relative of Polar Bears, and one that occurs today in the Himalayas. We have undertaken direct comparison of sequences; replication of the original comparative study; inference of phylogenetic relationships of the two samples with respect to those from all extant species of Ursidae (except for the Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and two extinct Pleistocene species; and application of a non-tree-based population aggregation approach for species diagnosis and identification. Our results demonstrate that the very short fragment of the 12S rRNA gene sequenced by Sykes et al. is not sufficiently informative to support the hypotheses provided by these authors with respect to the taxonomic identity of the individuals from which these sequences were obtained. We have concluded that there is no reason to believe that the two samples came from anything other than Brown Bears. These analyses afforded an opportunity to test the monophyly of morphologically defined species and to comment on both their phylogenetic relationships and future efforts necessary to advance our understanding of ursid systematics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus Pensoft Publishers ZooKeys 487 141 154 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Pensoft Publishers |
op_collection_id |
ftpensoft |
language |
English |
topic |
Mitochondrial DNA phylogenetics Ursus maritimus Ursus arctos Himalayas yeti cryptozoology |
spellingShingle |
Mitochondrial DNA phylogenetics Ursus maritimus Ursus arctos Himalayas yeti cryptozoology Gutiérrez,Eliécer Pine,Ronald H. No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
topic_facet |
Mitochondrial DNA phylogenetics Ursus maritimus Ursus arctos Himalayas yeti cryptozoology |
description |
By means of mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequencing of putative “yeti”, “bigfoot”, and other “anomalous primate” hair samples, a recent study concluded that two samples, presented as from the Himalayas, do not belong to an “anomalous primate”, but to an unknown, anomalous type of ursid. That is, that they match 12S rRNA sequences of a fossil Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), but neither of modern Polar Bears, nor of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos), the closest relative of Polar Bears, and one that occurs today in the Himalayas. We have undertaken direct comparison of sequences; replication of the original comparative study; inference of phylogenetic relationships of the two samples with respect to those from all extant species of Ursidae (except for the Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and two extinct Pleistocene species; and application of a non-tree-based population aggregation approach for species diagnosis and identification. Our results demonstrate that the very short fragment of the 12S rRNA gene sequenced by Sykes et al. is not sufficiently informative to support the hypotheses provided by these authors with respect to the taxonomic identity of the individuals from which these sequences were obtained. We have concluded that there is no reason to believe that the two samples came from anything other than Brown Bears. These analyses afforded an opportunity to test the monophyly of morphologically defined species and to comment on both their phylogenetic relationships and future efforts necessary to advance our understanding of ursid systematics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gutiérrez,Eliécer Pine,Ronald H. |
author_facet |
Gutiérrez,Eliécer Pine,Ronald H. |
author_sort |
Gutiérrez,Eliécer |
title |
No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
title_short |
No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
title_full |
No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
title_fullStr |
No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
No need to replace an “anomalous” primate (Primates) with an “anomalous” bear (Carnivora, Ursidae) |
title_sort |
no need to replace an “anomalous” primate (primates) with an “anomalous” bear (carnivora, ursidae) |
publisher |
Pensoft Publishers |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/4885/ |
genre |
Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
ZooKeys 487: 141-154 |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1313-2970 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1313-2989 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.487.9176 |
container_title |
ZooKeys |
container_volume |
487 |
container_start_page |
141 |
op_container_end_page |
154 |
_version_ |
1766231512931368960 |