Abstract
Ancient DNA data have supported a sister relationship between woolly rhinoceros and extant Sumatran rhinoceros. This relationship has been used to explore the divergent times for the woolly rhinoceros from their relatives. Complete and partial ancient DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene were retrieved from bones of the late Pleistocene Coelodonta antiquitatis excavated from northern and northeastern China. The newly obtained sequences together with the European and northern Asian Coelodonta antiquitatis sequences from GenBank were used to estimate the evolutionary divergence time. Phylogenetic analyses showed the exchange of genetic information between the Chinese individuals and Coelodonta antiquitatis of north Asia, which also indicated a more recent evolutionary timescale (3.8–4.7 Ma) than previous molecular estimations (17.5–22.8 or 21–26 Ma) for woolly rhinoceros based on the fossil calibration of outgroups. This new timescale was more consistent with the fossil record of the earliest known genus Coelodonta.
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