The World Just Got a New Species of Elephant. It Was Hiding in Plain Sight (ScienceAlert.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

DAVID NIELD
28 FEB 2018

Make some more room on the elephant family tree: genetic analysis has shown that what we know as African elephants actually represent two species rather than one, joining the Asian elephant to make three modern species roaming the world today.

In the most comprehensive elephant genome study carried out to date, scientists found a complex history of interbreeding and evolutionary history between these three living species and their related ancestors, including mammoths and mastodons.

Apart from clearly defining the elephant species we have today, the approach in this study could also help us map the evolutionary family trees of other animals in the future, according to the international team of researchers behind it.

"The most surprising result was the degree of interbreeding between species," says one of the team, David Adelson from the University of Adelaide in Australia.

"We didn't really expect there would be gene flow between the mammoths and mastodons and the ancestors of modern elephants, but our results showed frequent interbreeding."
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more: https://www.sciencealert.com/there-are-three-species-of-modern-african-elephant-not-two?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1




Well, I thought the definition of species was such that members of two different species couldn't produce viable, nonsterile offspring. Separated populations that don't interbreed, but could, are just that -- separate populations. Has the usage changed, and no one sent me a copy of the memo ? (Note they're directly quoting the researcher in at least one case, so it doesn't appear to be just sloppy journalism.)

NB: Hendrik Poinar is the son of George Jr., who discovered all sorts of fossil DNA in amber, and inspired Jurassic Park.

[hlthe2b]

1. Difference between "Genetic Species" and "biologic species" definitions

We define a genetic species as a group of genetically compatible interbreeding natural populations that is genetically isolated from other such groups. This focus on genetic isolation rather than reproductive isolation distinguishes the Genetic Species Concept from the Biological Species Concept.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2771874/


I adore elephants. Just hope we can protect them all.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Many species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

That's how we got Savannah and Bengal cats. Bengal cats were developed by selective breeding from hybrids of the Asian leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis, with the domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus. Savannah cats are crosses between domestic cats and Servals, Leptailurus serval.

[Duppers]

3. Zactly.

The larger version are the huge ligers...





From Wiki: "On September 2012, the Russian Novosibirsk Zoo announced the birth of a "liliger", which is the offspring of a liger mother and a lion father. The cub was named Kiara."