A 14,000-year-old genome sheds light on the evolution and extinction of a Pleistocene vulture

14,000 year old DNA reveals the evolutionary dynamics and adaptations of South American vultures. The New World Vulture [Coragyps] occidentalis (L. Miller, 1909) is one of many species that were extinct by the end of the Pleistocene. To understand its evolutionary history we sequenced the genome of a 14,000 year old [Coragyps] occidentalis found associated with megaherbivores in the Peruvian Andes. occidentalis has been viewed as the ancestor, or possibly sister, to the extant Black Vulture Coragyps atratus, but genomic data shows occidentalis to be deeply nested within the South American clade of atratus. Coragyps atratus inhabits lowlands, but the fossil record indicates that occidentalis mostly occupied high elevations. Our results suggest that occidentalis evolved from a population of atratus in southwestern South America that colonized the High Andes 300 to 400 kya. The morphological and morphometric differences between occidentalis and atratus may thus be explained by ecological diversification following from the natural selection imposed by this new and extreme, high elevation environment. The sudden evolution of a population with significantly larger body size and different anatomical proportions than atratus thus constitutes an example of punctuated evolution.

Automated summary

The study sequenced the genome of a 14,000 year old Coragyps occidentalis and found that it is not the ancestor of the extant Black Vulture, but is deeply nested within the South American clade of atratus. Fossil records indicate that occidentalis mostly occupied high elevations, and the study suggests that it evolved from a population of atratus in the southwestern region of South America around 300 to 400 thousand years ago. The morphological differences between occidentalis and atratus can be explained by ecological diversification in the new high elevation environment.