Startseite Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
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Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies

  • Feiyun Tu ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Yaqin Qiao und Yiran Bai
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 19. März 2025
Mammalia
Aus der Zeitschrift Mammalia Band 89 Heft 3

Abstract

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), a small wild feline native to Asia, is known for its considerable genetic diversity across its range; however, studies on the mitochondrial genome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni, a subspecies endemic to Hainan, are lacking. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the Hainan leopard cat. Sequencing revealed a genome length of 16,936 bp, 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and a control region. Phylogenetic analyses of the 13 protein-coding genes from the mitochondrial genomes of 11 subspecies of leopard cats revealed two well-supported clades (Clade A and Clade B). Within Clade A, P. b. alleni clustered with P. b. chinensis instead of P. b. bengalensis. Genetic distance and divergence time analyses supported the synonymization of P. b. alleni, P. b. chinensis, and P. b. horsfieldi with P. b. bengalensis. P. b. iriomotensis could be considered a synonym for P. b. euptilurus. Clade B corresponds to the recently the recognized species Prionailurus javanensis. Overall, our findings provide strong support for two P. bengalensis subspecies (P. b. bengalensis and P. b. euptilurus) and two P. javanensis subspecies (P. j. javanensis and P. j. sumatranus), and confirm the interest of using mitochondrial genome for gaining insights into phylogenetic relationships and subspecies taxonomy.

Keywords: Prionailurus bengalensis alleni ; mitochondrial genome; species delimitation; phylogeny
Corresponding author: Feiyun Tu, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, 571158 Haikou, Hainan Province, China, E-mail:

Funding source: Hainan Provincial Department of Science and Technology

Award Identifier / Grant number: 323MS037

Award Identifier / Grant number: 321RC544

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to Prof. Jichao Wang for providing the research platform, as well as to the two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for their helpful suggestions and constructive comments.

  1. Research ethics: The muscle sample of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni used in this study was obtained from a road-killed individual found in Tunchang County, Hainan, China. Since the specimen was already deceased and not euthanized for the purposes of this study, no ethical approval was required. The collection of the sample complied with Hainan wildlife regulations.

  2. Informed consent: All authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted.

  3. Author contributions: FT: design of primers and preparation of tables and figures, molecular analysis, preparation of the manuscript; YQ: preparation of tables and figures, preparation of the manuscript; YB: DNA extraction, preparation of the manuscript. The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: We have not used large language models, AI and machine learning tools witing the paper; We have not used large language models, AI and machine learning tools as authors.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: The study was supported by Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (323MS037, 321RC544).

  7. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0083).

Received: 2024-06-08
Accepted: 2025-02-19
Published Online: 2025-03-19
Published in Print: 2025-05-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Conservation
  3. Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
  4. Ecology
  5. New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
  6. Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
  7. Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
  8. Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
  9. How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
  10. First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
  11. Biogeography
  12. The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
  13. First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
  14. Ethology
  15. Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
  16. Taxonomy/Phylogeny
  17. On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
  18. New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
  19. Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
  20. Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0083
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
Prionailurus bengalensis alleni; mitochondrial genome; species delimitation; phylogeny

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Conservation
  3. Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
  4. Ecology
  5. New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
  6. Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
  7. Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
  8. Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
  9. How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
  10. First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
  11. Biogeography
  12. The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
  13. First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
  14. Ethology
  15. Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
  16. Taxonomy/Phylogeny
  17. On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
  18. New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
  19. Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
  20. Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
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