Subordinal artiodactyl relationships in the light of phylogenetic analysisof 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes

Extant artiodactyls (even-toed hoofed mammals) are traditionally divided in to three main lineages: Suiformes (pigs, peccaries and hippopotamuses), Tyl opoda (camels and llamas) and Ruminantia (bovids, deer, tragulids and giraf fes). Recent molecular studies have not supported a close relationship betw een pigs and hippopotamuses, however, instead grouping hippopotamuses with Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). In this study we have sequenced t he complete mitochondrial genome of a tylopod - the alpaca (Lama pacos), th e only artiodactyl suborder not previously represented by a complete mitoch ondrial sequence. This sequence was included in phylogenetic analyses toget her with the complete mitochondrial protein-coding sequences of other artio dactyls plus two cetaceans. Despite the length of the data set, the relatio nship between Suina (Suiformes sine Hippopotamidae), Tylopoda and Ruminanti a/Hippopotamidae/Cetacea could not be fully resolved, however, a basal posi tion of the alpaca (Tylopoda) relative to the other artiodactyls/cetaceans was unsupported.