Phylogenetic relationships of the endemic malagasy carnivoreCryptoprocta ferox (Aeluroidea): DNA/DNA hybridization experiments

A molecular and morphological study of several living aeluroid Carnivora was completed to evaluate the evolutionary relationships of the endemicCryptoprocta ferox, a carnivore living on the island of Madagascar. The molecular analysis, based on DNA/DNA hybridization experiments, suggests thatCryptoprocta is more closely related to the Herpestidae (as represented byMungos andIchneumia) than it is to the Viverrinae (Genetta), Paradoxurinae (Paguma, Paradoxurus), Felidae (Felis, Panthera), or Hyaenidae (Crocuta). Based on bootstrapping procedures applied to the individual DNA/DNA results, three branching patterns were observed which differ only by the relative position of the Felidae within the Aeluroidea. The amounts of genetic divergence measured between pairs of compared taxa have been transformed into millions years datings by the molecular clock concept, and this was done by establishing a molecular time scale based on the fossil record of the aeluroid Carnivora.