Albumin preservation in fossil bones and systematics of Malpaisomys insularis (Muridae,Rodentia), an extinct rodent of the Canary Islands

Collagen and albumin were extracted from subfossil bones of the extinct rodent Malpaisomys insularis; the radiocarbon age of the sample was at least 1.73 Ka. Electrophoretic and immunological techniques indicate the preservation of albumin while collagen is revealed as degraded fragments. Immunological comparisons between Malpaisomys albumin and albumin antisera of four extant rodents indicate that Malpaisomys is more closely related to Mus than to Acomys and Uranomys and that Cavia is the most divergent taxon studied. The branching order of the fossil and the extant rodents is discussed with respect to the relationships derived from morphological criteria.