The complete mitochondrial genome of the extinct Caribbean monk seal (Neomonachus tropicalis) confirms its taxonomic position and the monophyly of the genus Neomonachus

Museum specimens preserve genetic information that can help resolve phylogenetic relationships of now extinct species. The Caribbean monk seal, Neomonachus tropicalis, is the only marine mammal driven to extinction in tropical seas and one of the few marine mammals to go extinct in historical times. Prior to 1700 it was widely distributed throughout the coasts of North, Central and South America, and in the Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles. The species was first taxonomically placed in the genus Monachus, along with the Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals and it was later moved together with the Hawaiian monk seal into the newly described genus Neomonachus. Here, we present the complete mitochondrial genome of the Caribbean monk seal and a phylogenetic reconstruction, confirming its sister taxa relationship with the Hawaiian monk seal, and thus the monophyly of the genus Neomonachus. Our estimates of divergence times are contemporaneous with or predate the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama. We also identify limited genetic variation among five specimens of Caribbean monk seal.