Phylogenetic reanalysis of the Saudi gazelle and its implications for conservation

The identification of taxonomically appropriate Populations of endangered s pecies for captive breeding and reintroduction programs is fundamental to t he success of those programs. The Saudi gazelle (Gazella saudiya) was endem ic to the Arabian peninsula but is now considered extinct in the wild and i s potentially a candidate for captive breeding and reintroduction. Using 37 5 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b gene derived from mu seum samples collected from the wild prior to the presumed extinction of th is species, we show that G. saudiya is the sister taxon of the African dorc as gazelle (G. dorcas). Reciprocal monophyly of G. saudiya mtDNA haplotypes with G. dorcas, coupled with morphological distinctiveness, suggests that it is an evolutionarily significant unit. These data indicate that captive populations identified previously as potential sources of G. saudiya for ca ptive breeding appear incorrectly designated and are irrelevant to the cons ervation of G. saudiya. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of several private collections of l iving gazelles in Saudi Arabia provides no evidence for the survival of G. saudiya. We recommend that field surveys be undertaken to establish whether G. saudiya is indeed extinct in the wild and that other private collection s within the Arabian peninsula be screened genetically. We urge caution whe n captive animals of unknown provenance are used to investigate the phyloge netics of cryptic species groups.