Abstract
Duikers (Cephalophinae, Bovidae) are a group of forest mammals playing crucial roles in forest ecosystems either as prey or as seed dispersers. However, their taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships are still debated, and geo-referenced samples are rare. We collected 17 fecal samples of duikers in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity hotspot. To identify the species, evaluate the intra-specific genetic variation, and the phylogenetic relationships to other duiker species we used the mitochondrial cytochrome b and control region sequences and compared them with published sequences of 19 species of duikers. In addition, we collected camera-trap images and skull measurements of duikers living in this area. Our results showed that some of the collected samples could not be taxonomically assigned to any other duiker species available on public databases but indeed formed a monophyletic group within the east African red duikers. The camera trap images and morphometric analysis provisionally identify them as black-fronted duikers (C. nigrifrons), presumably the subspecies C. nigrifrons kivuensis Lönnberg, 1919 that was described from the Kivu-Region 100 years ago. This preliminary study shows that this subspecies should be raised to species rank based on molecular data, and stresses that further surveys and phylogenetic studies of east African red duikers are needed for understanding the diversity and evolution of these elusive species.
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All new DNA Sequences have been uploaded to Genbank and will be available upon publication of the manuscript. Genbank accession numbers are provided in Table 1.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the chief warden, the team of assistants and the rangers of Kahuzi-Biega National Park for the permission to conduct fieldwork in the park, and for their guidance and protection. Furthermore, we thank Emmanuel Gilissen, Curator for mammals at RMCA, for the possibility to take samples for molecular analyses of specimens in his collection.
Funding
This visit of E.V.B. to the RMCA Tervuren, Belgium was supported by SYNTHSYS + grant BE-TAF-2457.
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EVB conceived the idea, collected the samples, and conducted the analyses; VGF contributed to the sample design and storage and planned the molecular work; KL carried out the DNA extractions and PCR methods, PK organized and participated in the field work. EVB led the writing of the manuscript with critical input from all other authors.
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Bärmann, E.V., Fonseca, V.G., Langen, K. et al. New insights into the taxonomy of duiker antelopes (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the formal description of a new genus. Mamm Biol 102, 1793–1809 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00279-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00279-7