A mitochondrial DNA control region phylogeny of the Cervinae: speciation in Cervus and implications for conservation

Sequences from complete mitochondrial control legions (mtDNA CR) were used to infer phylogenetic relationships in 25 Cervinae taxa. Cervus splits into clades that are partially discordant with current species delimitations. N ominate Cervus elaphus includes two divergent clades that must be referred to as species elaphus (European elaphoid deer) and canadensis (Eurasian and North American wapitoid deer). Cervus nippon splits into Japanese and cont inental plus Taiwan sika. Pere David's deer is nested within Cervus. sugges ting that Elaphurus should be merged with Cen,us. European and Persian fall ow deer are genetically divergent and distinct species. Sequence length var ied due to a CR-I insertion, tandemly repented twice in rusa and sambar dee r, sika and wapiti, and repeated up to six times in a clade of Japanese sik a. Variable copy numbers of this repeat are also fixed in different sika su bspecies, and could be used as a diagnostic marker for subspecies. Sequence variability at the mtDNA CR is informative for defining species and subspe cies boundaries, and for locating the geographical origin of captive-reared stocks. Natural and fanned populations of some species have been deeply af fected by human management and the conservation of deer populations would b e aided by the appropriate identification of the different evolutionary and taxonomic: units.