Mitochondrial phylogeography of the Saharan striped polecat ( Poecilictis libyca ) and zorilla ( Ictonyx striatus )

Abstract Many large African mammals show distinct population structures between northern, west-central and east-southern Africa, yet few studies have examined whether smaller mammals with limited dispersal capacity exhibit similar phylogeographic patterns. The Saharan striped polecat ( Poecilictis libyca Ehrenberg, 1833) and the zorilla ( Ictonyx striatus Perry, 1810) are mustelid mesocarnivores endemic to the edges of the Sahara Desert and most of sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. Despite their broad distributions, little is known about their genetics or population structure. We sequenced and assembled 19 novel mitochondrial genomes (7 polecat, 12 zorilla) and combined these with three previously published mitogenomes (1 polecat, 2 zorilla) to provide the first phylogeographic assessment of both species, using haplotype and phylogenetic analyses. The Saharan striped polecat exhibited distinct haplogroups corresponding to the Palearctic and Afrotropical biogeographic realms, although there are substantial geographic sampling gaps. The zorilla showed a deep divergence between central and southern African populations, mirroring a phylogeographic pattern well documented in mammal species with larger body sizes. These first mitogenomic insights reveal previously unrecognized population structure in two understudied mustelids, underscoring the value of phylogeographic data for guiding the taxonomy of Africa’s neglected smaller carnivores.