Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41845022›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Genomic identification and complete mitochondrial recovery of a Late Holocene porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) mummy from Yukon permafrost.

Sofia Selvatici, Chenyu Jin, Grant Zazula, Elizabeth Hall, Susan Hewitson, Hannah M Moots, Bilal Sharif, Erik Ersmark, Laura Parducci, Love Dalén and 2 more

Abstract read
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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Sofia SelvaticiCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Chenyu JinCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Grant ZazulaGovernment of Yukon, Palaeontology Program, Whitehorse, YT, Canada.
Elizabeth HallGovernment of Yukon, Palaeontology Program, Whitehorse, YT, Canada.
Susan HewitsonGovernment of Yukon, Palaeontology Program, Whitehorse, YT, Canada.
Hannah M MootsCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Bilal SharifCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Erik ErsmarkCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Laura ParducciDipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.
Love DalénCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
David Díez-Del-MolinoCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gonzalo Oteo-GarcíaCentre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm, Sweden. gonzalo.oteo@su.se.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We identified a 3000-year-old specimen from the Traditional Territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in in central Yukon Territory, Canada as the first known mummified remains of an ancient North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), known as "Ts'ey" in the Hän language, using genetic analysis and metagenomic validation. Our analysis of the sample yielded the first-ever complete ancient mitochondrial genome for (E. dorsatum) and only the second full mitogenome for the species. Its Holocene age is considerably younger than the Pleistocene megafauna typically recovered in the Yukon permafrost, demonstrating the potential for these deposits to preserve specimens from interglacial periods. Crucially, this finding confirms the presence of porcupines in the region 3000 years ago, in line with the hypothesis that this species only dispersed into Yukon and Alaska following the establishment of boreal forests after the Last Glacial Period.

Indexed as

Genome, MitochondrialMummiesPorcupinesAnimalsDNA, MitochondrialGenomicsPermafrostPhylogenySequence Analysis, DNAYukon TerritoryDNA, Mitochondrial

Identifiers

PMID41845022
PMCPMC12996357

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