title: The complete mitochondrial genome of temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii; Smuts, 1832) and phylogenetic position of the Pholidota (Weber, 1904).
abstract: Temmincki's ground pangolin is primarily a nocturnal mammal belonging to the order Pholidota. The body is covered in hard overlapping scales and these animals find refuge in burrows, feeding only on termites and ants. In this study, the whole mtDNA of Temmincki's ground pangolin was sequenced and the phylogenetic position of Pholidota determined within Eutheria, using whole mtDNA sequences from various representative species. The results indicate that the whole mtDNA of Temmincki's ground pangolin is 16,559 bp long and shared some similarities with the whole mtDNA of the back-bellied tree pangolin and the Chinese pangolin. Phylogenetic analysis indicate that the order Pholidota is closely related and share a recent common ancestor with the order Carnivora rather than with the ant/insect eating order Xenarthra and the group Afrotheria. A time measured phylogeny of Pholidota estimated a split from Carnivora at around 87 mya, followed by a split of the African pangolins from their Asian counterparts such as the Chinese pangolin at around 47 mya. This suggests a Laurasian origin and convergent evolution of the Pholidota with respect to Xenarthra and Afrotheria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. Electronic address: zdutoit@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zelda
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du Toit
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.
authors.forename: J Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Grobler
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kotzé
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental, Water and Earth Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brettschneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, P.O. Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Desiré L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dalton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics*; D029595:Orchidaceae / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Mitochondrial DNA; Phylogeny; Smutsia temminckii; Temminck's ground pangolin