Impacts of biological globalization in the Mediterranean: Unveiling the deep history of human-mediated gamebird dispersal

Human-mediated species dispersal stretching back at least 10,000 y has left an indelible stamp on present day biodiversity. A major contributing factor to this process was the trade in a wide range of exotic species that was fueled by elite demand. The black francolin—now extinct in the western Mediterranean but once a courtly gamebird prized for its flavor, curative, and aphrodisiac qualities by European aristocracy—was one of these species. Using historical sources and DNA analysis of modern and archival specimens, we show that this bird was not native to the western Mediterranean, and document its introduction to Cyprus and westward through the Mediterranean Basin via several trade routes that reached as far east as South Asia.