We present a case that illustrates the complex contexts in which forensic veterinary pathology exami-nations may be carried out. A wild muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) had died after a putative bite attack from a domestic dog. Bite attacks by privately owned dogs on wild animals in Switzerland violate the Swiss civil (and/or hunting) laws, and dog owners are generally punished with a monetary fine; hence, this case appeared to be straightforward. However, the results of the subsequent post-mortem examination of the muskrat not only confirmed the presence of injuries related to the bite attack, but also detected alveolar echinococcosis (ie, infestation with Echinococcus multilocularis). Therefore, as an intermediate host of the parasite, the muskrat could have contributed to further spread of a severe helminthic zoonosis had it not been killed by the dog. It was probably an easy prey for the dog as it probably had been weakened by the disease. Furthermore, muskrats are considered as pests and invasive species, and are non-indigenous huntable game in Switzerland and other European countries in which programmes for the prevention of their further spread and endangerment of native wildlife are established. The role of the forensic veterinary pathologist in such a complex scenario is to adopt an unbiased approach and establish the facts, which in this case was to determine the cause of death and suspected perpetrator, identify any concomitant and/or underlying diseases and consider potential animal welfare issues.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

In the early 1800s, the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) was probably extirpated from Switzerland, due to overhunting and deforestation. After a federal law was enacted in 1875 to protect lactating females and young, and limiting the hunting season, the roe deer successfully recovered and recolonized Switzerland. In this study, we use mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA markers to investigate the recolonization and assess contemporary genetic structure in relation to broad topographic features, in order to understand underlying ecological processes, inform future roe deer management strategies, and explore the opportunity for development of forensic traceability tools. The results concerning the recolonization origin support natural, multidirectional immigration from neighboring countries. We further demonstrate that there is evidence of weak genetic differentiation within Switzerland among topographic regions. Finally, we conclude that the genetic data support the recognition of a single roe deer management unit within Switzerland, within which there is a potential for broad‐scale geographic origin assignment using nuclear markers to support law enforcement.

Precious corals from the Corallidae family (Corallium, Hemicorallium, and Pleurocorallium genera) are well known in the high-end jewelry industry due to their colorful and durable axial skeleton. They exist in various colors from white to pink to dark red. One highly appreciated shade is the light pink color, the so-called ‘angel skin’. This color is most often associated with Pleurocorallium elatius and Pleurocorallium secundum, species listed in CITES Appendix III. However, this has been based on an assumption of their visual similarity and has never been underpinned by detailed morphologic or genetic data. In this study, we present the analysis of an ‘angel skin’ coral necklace of exceptional size and homogeneous color and quality. Visual observation and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the necklace consists of genuine, untreated precious coral material. Following minimally destructive sampling, respectively, drilling 2.2, 2.4, and 2.4 milligrams of material from the existing drill-holes, three randomly selected beads from the necklace were subject to a routine genetic identification assay, which is based on sequencing a short, taxonomically informative mitochondrial region. This genetic analysis identified the coral material as not from P. elatius or P. secundum but from another Pleurocorallium species. We subsequently sequenced additional mitochondrial DNA fragments from one ‘angel skin’ coral bead and compared them against a well-represented, curated reference data set of Pleurocorallium, including the first-ever sequencing of Pleurocorallium gotoense, Pleurocorallium johnsoni, Pleurocorallium cf. pusillum, and Pleurocorallium uchidai. We concluded that the analyzed material of the ‘angel skin’ coral necklace belongs to the Pleurocorallium norfolkicum species complex but is not identical to any hitherto analyzed and published Pleurocorallium specimens. A comparison with further taxonomically unidentified precious coral colony fragments identified a single sample fished in Vietnam to be completely identical to the ‘angel skin’ coral bead in the studied DNA regions. Thus, by the analysis of a high-end jewel, we discovered a species new to the jewelry trade and potentially also unknown to science. This implies that the currently considered list of species present in the precious coral trade is incomplete.

The holotype specimen holds the most authentic characteristics of a species; its features will serve as a foundation for the identification of individuals belonging to this species. The precious coral Pleurocorallium secundum was described in 1846 based on a colony from the Hawaiian Islands. This specimen has been preserved; however, it is decorticated and contains exclusively the axial skeleton, which has hindered its use for accurate species identification. Therefore, the species was redescribed in 1956 based on two lots collected in 1902. Pleurocorallium secundum was considered the most frequently fished precious coral species in the second half of the twentieth century with landings on the total scale of hundred-thousand kilograms, which was followed by its listing on CITES Appendix III. Recently, the conspecificity of the holotype and redescribed colonies was questioned, and specimens labeled in the scientific literature as P. secundum were discovered to be phylogenetically distant from each other. To clarify the identity of P. secundum, we took minimally destructive samples from the century-old holotype and fragments of redescribed colonies and applied techniques conforming to low copy number DNA analyses. DNA sequences of three mitochondrial regions were evaluated in a phylogenetic framework together with DNA sequences retrieved from freshly collected putative P. secundum specimens and sequences from the scientific literature. The results of this study clearly indicate that the holotype and the colony fragments used for the redescription of P. secundum represent the same species. Based on the specimens confirmed to be P. secundum with genetic evidence, the distribution area of P. secundum stretches from the Hawaiian Islands to the South China Sea. At the same time, our analysis uncovered both published and fresh specimens that are in fact not P. secundum. The latter includes the fished Makapuu coral bed in Hawaii, which used to be a significant coral fishing area. Based on the microscopic analysis of redescribed colony fragments, we complement the diagnosis of P. secundum. This, together with our genetic results will aid the identification of coral objects present in the international jewelry trade by providing authentic molecular barcoding markers and morphologic features for the identification of P. secundum.

The holotype specimen holds the most authentic characteristics of a species; its features will serve as a foundation for the identification of individuals belonging to this species. The precious coral Pleurocorallium secundum was described in 1846 based on a colony from the Hawaiian Islands. This specimen has been preserved; however, it is decorticated and contains exclusively the axial skeleton, which has hindered its use for accurate species identification. Therefore, the species was redescribed in 1956 based on a specimen lot collected in 1902. Pleurocorallium secundum was considered the most frequently fished precious coral species in the second half of the 20 ^th century with landings on the scale of thousands of tons, which was followed by its listing on CITES Appendix III. Recently, the conspecificity of the holotype and the redescribed colonies was questioned and specimens labeled in the scientific literature as P. secundum were discovered to be phylogenetically distant from each other. To clarify the identity of P. secundum , we took minimally destructive samples from the century-old holotype and the redescribed colonies and applied techniques conforming to low copy number DNA analyses. DNA sequences of three mitochondrial regions were evaluated in a phylogenetic framework together with DNA sequences retrieved from freshly collected putative P. secundum specimens and sequences from the scientific literature. The results of this study clearly indicate that the holotype and the redescribed colonies of P. secundum represent the same species. Based on the specimens confirmed to be P. secundum with genetic evidence, the distribution area of P. secundum stretches from the Hawaiian Islands to the South China Sea. At the same time, our analysis uncovered both published and fresh specimens that are in fact not P. secundum . The latter includes the fished Makapuu coral bed in Hawaii, which used to be a significant coral fishing area. Based on the microscopic analysis of the redescribed colonies, we complement the diagnosis of P. secundum . This, together with our genetic results will aid the identification of coral objects present in the international jewelry trade by providing authentic molecular barcoding markers and morphologic features for the identification of P. secundum . Statements and Declarations: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.