Ancient DNA of extinct species from the Pleistocene and Holocene has provided valuable evolutionary insights. However, these are largely restricted to mammals and high latitudes because DNA preservation in warm climates is typically poor. In the tropics and subtropics, non-avian reptiles constitute a significant part of the fauna and little is known about the genetics of the many extinct reptiles from tropical islands. We have reconstructed the near-complete mitochondrial genome of an extinct giant tortoise...

Biologists recognize the Caribbean archipelago as a biodiversity hotspot and employ it for their research as a “natural laboratory”, but do not always appreciate that these ecosystems are in fact palimpsests shaped by multiple human cultures over millennia. We discuss two case studies of the Caribbean’s fragmented natural history collections, the effects of differing legislation and governance by the region’s multiple nation states. We use digital natural history specimen data from GBIF to demonstrate how...