Genetic evidence indicates the occurrence of the Endangered Kashmir musk deer Moschus cupreus in Uttarakhand, India

Ajit Kumar,Kumudani Bala Gautam,Bhim Singh,Sandeep Kumar Gupta,Subhashree Sahoo

doi:10.1017/s0030605321000417

Abstract

AbstractThe Endangered Kashmir musk deer Moschus cupreus occurs in the western Himalayan region from Nepal to Afghanistan, but there is a lack of comprehensive and reliable information on its range. The region also harbours the Endangered Himalayan musk deer Moschus leucogaster, and this range overlap may have led to misidentification of the two musk deer species and errors in the delimitation of their ranges. Here, using genetic analysis of the mitochondrial DNA control region, we examined the phylogenetic relationship among musk deer samples from three regions in India: Ganderbal District in Jammu and Kashmir, and Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, both in Uttarakhand. The Bayesian phylogenetic analysis indicated a close genetic relationship between samples from Jammu and Kashmir, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, validated by previously published sequences of Kashmir musk deer from Nepal. Our analyses confirmed the samples from Uttarakhand to be from the Kashmir musk deer, which was not previously known from this region. Therefore, we recommend further research in this area, to validate species identification and confirm the geographical distribution of the various species of musk deer. In addition, we recommend revision of the range of M. cupreus in the IUCN Red List assessment, to facilitate effective conservation and management of this Endangered species.

Highlights

Musk deer are endemic to the Palearctic region, inhabiting fragmented areas of the Himalayan mountains, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining mountainous region in China and eastern Russia (Pan et al, )
Among the musk deer species, M. cupreus was closest to M. moschiferus ( . – . %) followed by M. leucogaster ( %), whereas the maximum genetic difference was observed with M. berezovskii ( . %) (Table )
Our study indicates the presence of M. cupreus in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, India

Summary

Introduction

Musk deer (genus Moschus, family Moschidae) are endemic to the Palearctic region, inhabiting fragmented areas of the Himalayan mountains, the Tibetan Plateau and the adjoining mountainous region in China and eastern Russia (Pan et al, ). They are solitary habitat specialists, mostly found in forests, alpine shrubland and above the treeline of alpine meadows. Of which five occur in the Himalayan range: the Kashmir M. cupreus, Alpine M. chrysogaster, Himalayan M. leucogaster, forest M. berezovskii and black M. fuscus musk deer (Grubb, ). Because of overlapping distribution ranges and morphological similarities, there is ambiguity regarding the taxonomy of musk deer species, hindering efficient conservation efforts (Pan et al, )

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Conclusion