Abstract
The many high-resolution tools that are uniquely applicable to specimens from the Quaternary period (the past ~2.5 Ma) provide an opportunity to cross-validate data and test hypotheses based on the morphology and distribution of fossils. Among these tools is palaeogenomics – the genome-scale sequencing of genetic material from ancient specimens – that can provide direct insight into ecology and evolution, potentially improving the accuracy of inferences about past ecological communities over longer timescales. Palaeogenomics has revealed instances of over- and underestimation of extinct diversity, detected cryptic faunal migration and turnover, allowed quantification of widespread sex biases and sexual dimorphism in the fossil record, revealed past hybridisation events and hybrid individuals, and has highlighted previously unrecognised routes of zoonotic disease transfer.
Under ideal conditions, it is possible to retrieve genomic data from the remains of organisms hundreds of thousands of years old. These 'palaeogenomic' data can be used to test hypotheses about past biological change with a level of resolution that is not possible using other methods.Palaeogenomic studies have revealed underappreciated taxonomic diversity and intraspecies morphological variation in past ecological communities, as well as documenting processes such as hybridisation and migration that are challenging to infer from fossilised remains.Although the temporal range of palaeogenomic studies is limited by the half-life of DNA, the deeper understanding of biases in the recent fossil record provided by cross-referencing with palaeogenomic data is likely to stimulate reevaluation of patterns observed in the fossil record over much longer time-periods.