Molecular phylogeny of the tribe Bovini (Mammalia: Artiodactyla): alternative placement of the Anoa

Abstract

Noncoding regions from the genes encoding aromatase cytochrome P450 and lactoferrin have been sequenced in ten bovine and one cervid species for an investigation of the evolutionary relationships within the tribe Bovini. The evolutionary rate of DNA‐nucleotide alterations along the ancestral bovine lineage amounts to 0.38% per million years, as estimated from this combined 0.478‐kb‐single copy nuclear (scn) DNA sequence data set. Whereas rate homogenity is apparent within the Bovini, the relative rate test suggests that the boselaphine lineage (as represented by Boselaphus ) has evolved at only about one third of the rate found within the Bovini. Consistent with other results, the scnDNA data provide evidence for ( i ) a monophyletic origin of the Bovini, ( ii ) a sister group position of the Boselaphini, and ( iii ) two different clades within the Bovini, the buffaloes ( Bubalus and Syncerus ) and the cattle ( Bos/Bibos and Bison ). Surprisingly, the results indicate very clearly that the enigmatic dwarf buffalo of Sulawesi Island ( Anoa depressicornis ) is most closely related to Boselaphus and that the divergence from the true Bovini occurred close to the base of bovine cladogenesis in the Middle Miocene (≈ 14—12 million years ago).