2017/11/29 by Tianying Lan, Stephanie Gill, Eva Bellemain +3 · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
paper · doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.1804
openalex publication_date 2017/11/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Although anecdotally associated with local bears ( Ursus arctos and U. thibetanus ), the exact identity of ‘hominid’-like creatures important to folklore and mythology in the Tibetan Plateau–Himalaya region is still surrounded by mystery. Recently, two purported yeti samples from the Himalayas showed genetic affinity with an ancient polar bear, suggesting they may be from previously unrecognized, possibly hybrid, bear species, but this preliminary finding has been under question. We conducted a comprehensive genetic survey of field-collected and museum specimens to explore their identity and ultimately infer the evolutionary history of bears in the region. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences determined clade affinities of the purported yeti samples in this study, strongly supporting the biological basis of the yeti legend to be local, extant bears. Complete mitochondrial genomes were assembled for Himalayan brown bear ( U. a. isabellinus ) and black bear ( U. t. laniger ) for the first time. Our results demonstrate that the Himalayan brown bear is one of the first-branching clades within the brown bear lineage, while Tibetan brown bears diverged much later. The estimated times of divergence of the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayan bear lineages overlap with Middle to Late Pleistocene glaciation events, suggesting that extant bears in the region are likely descendants of populations that survived in local refugia during the Pleistocene glaciations.