Re: Woolly Mammoth/Aichi Expo 2005

[David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

> Isn't this old news?  I remember a comparative genetic study from about
> 5-10 years ago arriving at the same conclusion.

At least one study that found this (and is about this old) sequenced a numt* 
of an African elephant instead of its actual mtDNA and therefore reached 
erroneous conclusions, according to a later paper:

--+--*Loxodonta* numt
 `--+--*Elephas* mtDNA
    `--+--genuine *Loxodonta* mtDNA
       `--*Mammuthus* mtDNA

Therefore I find it rather surprising that the newest study puts the mammoth 
back next to the Asian elephant.

* Nuclear copy of the mitochondrial genome. Occasionally mitochondria go 
kaputt, and in those cases it can happen that their genome integrates into 
the nuclear genome where it behaves like any pseudogene -- it mutates 
without selection. Apparently such an event happened somewhere around the 
base of Elephantidae.