The population history of extant and extinct hyenas

We have analyzed partial DNA sequences of the mitochondrialcytochrome b gene from extant striped, brown, and spotted hyenasas well as from Pleistocene cave hyenas. Sequences of the Pleistocenecave hyenas from Eurasia and modern spotted hyenas from Africaare intermixed in phylogenetic analyses, questioning any taxonomicdelineation between the two groups. Contrary to cave hyenasin Eurasia, spotted hyenas in Africa show a phylogeographicpattern with little geographical overlap between two mitochondrialDNA (mtDNA) clades, suggesting two Pleistocene refugia in thenorth and south of Africa. Our results, furthermore, suggestthree waves of migration from Africa to Eurasia for spottedhyenas, around 3, 1, and 0.3 MYA. A recent emigration of stripedhyenas from Africa to Eurasia took place less than 0.1 MYA,resulting in a dramatic expansion of the geographical rangeof striped hyenas. In striped hyenas and within the geographicalrange of mtDNA clades in spotted hyenas, we found identicalsequences several thousand kilometers apart, indicating a highrate of migration during the Pleistocene as well as the Holocene.Both striped and brown hyenas show low amounts of genetic diversity,with the latter ones displaying just a single haplotype.