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Group:
Eudicot
Estimated genome size:
0.3 meters in height.
Size:
0.3 meters in height.
Distribution:
Found in grassland habitats across Southern Africa.
PromethION Sequencing Report:
Output:
122.04 Gigabases
Approximate N50:
9.24 kilobases
Draft Genome Assembly Statistics:
Genome Length:
2.75 Gigabases
BUSCO completeness score (single and duplicated genes):
99.6% [S: 60.8%, D: 38.8%]
Importance:
Some populations of this species in the Barberton region of South Africa have evolved the ability to hyperaccumulate nickel, making this species ideal for a comparative genomics approach to understand the evolution of this extreme phenotype.
Group:
Reptile
Estimated genome size:
Size:
Maximum 15cm
Distribution:
Bushmanland and Upper Karoo in South Africa, and southern Namibia.
PromethION Sequencing Report:
Output:
97.28 Gigabases
Approximate N50:
7.68 kilobases
Assembly N50:
2 312.32 kilobases
Contig number:
10 395
Draft Genome Assembly Statistics:
Assembler used:
TBA
Genome Length:
2.24 Gigabases
BUSCO completeness score (single and duplicated genes):
99.6% [S: 97.6%, D: 2%]
BUSCO database:
TBA
Psammobates tentorius verroxii
Bushmanland tent tortoise
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Importance:
The Bushmanland tent tortoise, an important seed disperser for various plant species and endemic to South Africa and Namibia, is arguably one of the most taxonomically confusing and morphologically polymorphic species of Testudines. It is listed as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN and occurs in the Upper Karoo, Bushmanland regions of South Africa, and southern Namibia. It only occurs in the Nama Karoo Biome. Remarkably, no genomic studies have been conducted on any tortoise species in Africa or across the entire Southern Hemisphere.
Sample Contributor contact details:
Dr Zhongning Zhao
University of the Free State
Date Published:
2025-07-17
Photo credit:
© Zhongning Zhao
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