Taxonomic and ecological characterization of the extinct Levantine hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus (Pallas, 1766) (Bovidae: Alcelaphini)

The hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), once widespread across all of Africa and the Levant, was extirpated in Northern Africa in the early 20th century and from the Levant in the first millennium CE. To this day, the biogeographical origins of the Levantine hartebeest are poorly understood, as are the taxon-specific ecology and reason for its extirpation at the northern edge of its global range. The aim of this study was to fill this gap by generating the first high-coverage mitogenomes of Levantine and North African hartebeest, conducting phylogenetic analyses to determine their relationship to extant Alcelaphussubspecies, and estimating divergence times. Additionally, we have applied ecological niche models to assess climatic suitability of the southern Levant to hartebeest populations over time. Our findings confirm that Levantine hartebeest belonged to the North African Bubal (A. b. buselaphus) lineage. Furthermore, we suggest that human pressure, rather than climate change, drove their regional extinction in the Levant, as in North Africa. Ecological niche model projections indicate that reintroducing hartebeest to the Levant remains feasible under current and future climatic scenarios.