The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the greater Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, and the phylogenetic relationship among Carnivora, Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla (plus Cetacea)

The sequence (16,829 nt) of the complete mitochondrial genome of the greater Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, was determined. Like other perissodactyls studied (horse and donkey) the rhinoceros demonstrates length variation (heteroplasmy) associated with different numbers of repetitive motifs in the control region. The 16,829-nt variety of the molecule includes 36 identical control region motifs. The evolution of individual peptide-coding genes was examined by comparison with a distantly related perissodactyl, the horse, and the relationships among the orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla (+ Cetacea) were examined on the basis of concatenated sequences of 12 mitochondrial peptide-coding genes. The phylogenetic analyses grouped Carnivora, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla (+ Cetacea) into a superordinal clade and within this clade a sister group relationship was recognized between Carnivora and Perissodactyla to the exclusion of Artiodactyla (+ Cetacea). On the basis of the molecular difference between the rhinoceros and the horse and by applying as a reference the Artiodactyl/Cetacean divergence set at 60 million years ago (MYA), the evolutionary divergence between the families Rhinocerotidae and Equidae was dated to approximate to 50 MYA.