RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Genetic data from the extinct giant rat from Tenerife (Canary Islands) points to a recent divergence from mainland relatives A1 Rando Reyes, Juan Carlos A1 Renom, Pere A1 Dios, Toni de A1 Civit, Sergi A1 Llovera, Laia A1 Sánchez Gracia, Alejandro A1 Lizano, Esther A1 Marquès Bonet, Tomàs A1 Kergoat, Gael J. A1 Casanovas Vilar, Isaac A1 Lalueza Fox, Carles A2 Biología Animal y Edafología y Geología A2 Evoluciónecología y conservación de vertebrados en Macaronesia (VerMac) K1 ancient DNA K1 body mass K1 gigantism K1 insular evolution K1 molecular phylogeny K1 rodents AB Evolution of vertebrate endemics in oceanic islands follows a predictable pattern, known as the island rule, according to which gigantism arises in originally small-sized species and dwarfism in large ones. Species of extinct insular giant rodents are known from all over the world. In the Canary Islands, two examples of giant rats, †Canariomys bravoi and †Canariomys tamarani, endemic to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively, disappeared soon after human settlement. The highly derived morphological features of these insular endemic rodents hamper the reconstruction of their evolutionary histories. We have retrieved partial nuclear and mitochondrial data from †C. bravoi and used this information to explore its evolutionary affinities. The resulting dated phylogeny confidently places †C. bravoi within the African grass rat clade (Arvicanthis niloticus). The estimated divergence time, 650000 years ago (95% higher posterior densities: 373000944000), points toward an island colonization during the Günz–Mindel interglacial stage. †Canariomys bravoi ancestors would have reached the island via passive rafting and then underwent a yearly increase of mean body mass calculated between 0.0015 g and 0.0023 g; this corresponds to fast evolutionary rates (in darwins (d), ranging from 7.09 d to 2.78 d) that are well above those observed for non-insular mammals. YR 2021 FD 2021 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/38195 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/38195 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 09-jul-2024