Mitochondrial DNA analysis of critically endangered Chinese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) from Nepal

Chinese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) are Critically Endangered and one of the most illegally traded mammals globally. We generated first COI sequences from five individuals of this species from Nepal. BLASTn search of our 600 bp sequences at GenBank showed pair-wise identity between 99.17% and 100% toM. pentadactyla. There were three haplotypes and a total of five variable sites among fiveM. pentadactylasequences. Neighbor-joining tree revealed that allM.pentadactylafrom Nepal clustered into same group further splitting into two sub-groups albeit with low bootstrap value, suggesting potential multiple geographic origins. The K2P distance was 0.3% within group and 0.7% between four sequences from Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchok districts (Mape2, Mape3, Mape5 and Mape6) and museum sample (Mape10). This study has generated reference samples forM. pentadactylafrom Nepal and will be helpful in understanding dynamics of illegal trade of this species and in successful identification ofM. pentadactylafrom Nepal even in the absence of intact specimens.