Ancient DNA from the extint South American extinct glyptodont Doedicurus (Xenarthra-Glyptodontidae) reveals that glyptodonts evolved from Eocene armadillos

KIEREN MITCHELL; ESTEBAN SOIBELZON; RICARDO BONINI; ALAN COOPER; AGUSTÍN SCANFERLA; JAVIER OCHOA

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016 vol. 25 p. 3499 - 3508

0962-1083

<!-- /* Font Definitions */@font-face{font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝";mso-font-charset:78;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{font-family:Cambria;panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}@page WordSection1{size:595.0pt 842.0pt;margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm;mso-header-margin:35.4pt;mso-footer-margin:35.4pt;mso-paper-source:0;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}-->Glyptodonts were giant (up to ~2400 kg), heavilyarmoured relatives of living armadillos, which became extinct during the LatePleistocene/early Holocene alongside much of the South American megafauna.Although glyptodonts were an important component of Cenozoic South Americanfaunas, their early evolution and phylogenetic affinities within the order Cingulata(armoured New World placental mammals) remain controversial. In this study, weused hybridization enrichment and high-throughput sequencing to obtain apartial mitochondrial genome from Doedicurus sp., the largest (1.5 m tall, and4 m long) and one of the last surviving glyptodonts. Our molecular phylogeneticanalyses revealed that glyptodonts fall within the diversity of living armadillos.Reanalysis of morphological data using a molecular ?backbone constraint? revealedseveral morphological characters that supported a close relationship between glyptodontsand the tiny extant fairy armadillos (Chlamyphorinae). This is surprising asthese taxa are among the most derived cingulates: glyptodonts were generallylarge-bodied and heavily armoured, while the fairy armadillos are tiny (~9-17cm) and adapted for burrowing. Calibration of our phylogeny with the firstappearance of glyptodonts in the Eocene resulted in a more precise timeline forxenarthran evolution. The osteological novelties of glyptodonts and theirspecialization for grazing appear to have evolved rapidly during the LateEocene to Early Miocene, coincident with global temperature decreases and ashift from wet closed forest towards drier open Woodland and grassland acrossmuch of South America. This environmental change may have driven the evolutionof glyptodonts, culminating in the bizarre giant forms of the Pleistocene.