Genomic Ancestry of the American Puma

This study used mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites across the puma's vast range from Canada to Patagonia to reconstruct the species' population history. The authors found surprisingly low genetic diversity in North American pumas compared with South American populations and inferred that North America was recolonized from a South American source after a late-Pleistocene extinction, roughly ten to twelve thousand years ago. They proposed reducing the many named puma subspecies to a smaller number of genetically supported units. The work reshaped puma taxonomy, clarified the recent demographic history of the most widespread New World cat, and provided context for the depleted Florida panther.