Time-calibrated phylogeny and full mitogenome sequence of the Galapagos sea lion ( Zalophus wollebaeki ) from scat DNA.

From the obtained 3,511,116 raw reads, we were able to assemble a full mitogenome of a length of 16,676 bp, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNA), and two ribosomal RNAs (rRNA). A time-calibrated phylogeny confirmed the phylogenetic position of in a clade with , and , and sister to ; as well as establishing the divergence time for 0.65 million years ago. Our study illustrates the possibility of seamlessly sequencing full mitochondrial genomes from fresh scat samples of marine mammals.