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The taxonomic status of the now likely extirpated Korean Peninsula wolf has been extensively debated, with some arguing it represents an independent wolf lineage, Canis coreanus. To investigate the Korean wolf's genetic affiliations and taxonomic status, we sequenced and analysed the genomes of a Korean wolf dated to the beginning of the 20th century, and a captive wolf originally from the Pyongyang Central Zoo. Our results indicated that the Korean wolf bears similar genetic ancestry to other regional East Asian populations, therefore suggesting it is not a distinct taxonomic lineage. We identified regional patterns of wolf population structure and admixture in East Asia with potential conservation consequences in the Korean Peninsula and on a regional scale. We find that the Korean wolf has similar genomic diversity and inbreeding to other East Asian wolves. Finally, we show that, in contrast to the historical sample, the captive wolf is genetically more similar to wolves from the Tibetan Plateau; hence, Korean wolf conservation programmes might not benefit from the inclusion of this specimen.

Summary . In 2008 the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) ruled that the name Streptopelia risoria (Linnaeus, 1758) should have priority for both African Collared Dove and its domestic form, Barbary Dove, as it is senior to S. roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857). Many ignored the ruling in the belief that the ancestry of Barbary Dove is still unproven. Given the lack of a name-bearing specimen and in anticipation of the ICZN decision, in 2008 a neotype was designated for S. risoria. To clarify the taxonomic status of roseogrisea, as its original type series was mixed, in 2018 a neotype was also designated for this junior synonym of African Collared Dove. As the species was assumed to be polytypic, synonymisation of roseogrisea with risoria at species level was questioned thereafter. The results of a whole genome-resequencing study now show that African Collared Dove is the principal ancestor of Barbary Dove, and that the species is monotypic.

The domestic pigeon’s exceptional phenotypic diversity was key in developing Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and establishing the concept of artificial selection. However, unlike its domestic counterpart, its wild progenitor, the rock dove Columba livia has received considerably less attention. Therefore, questions regarding its domestication, evolution, taxonomy, and conservation status remain unresolved. We generated whole-genome sequencing data from 65 historical rock doves that represent all currently recognized subspecies and span the species’ original geographic distribution. Our dataset includes 3 specimens from Darwin’s collection, and the type specimens of 5 different taxa. We characterized their population structure, genomic diversity, and gene-flow patterns. Our results show the West African subspecies C. l. gymnocyclus is basal to rock doves and domestic pigeons, and suggests gene-flow between the rock dove’s sister species C. rupestris, and the ancestor of rock doves after its split from West African populations. These genomes allowed us to propose a model for the evolution of the rock dove in light of the refugia theory. We propose that rock dove genetic diversity and introgression patterns derive from a history of allopatric cycles and dispersion waves during the Quaternary glacial and interglacial periods. To explore the rock dove domestication history, we combined our new dataset with available genomes from domestic pigeons. Our results point to at least 1 domestication event in the Levant that gave rise to all domestic breeds analysed in this study. Finally, we propose a species-level taxonomic arrangement to reflect the evolutionary history of the West African rock dove populations.