The mitogenome of common snipe, Gallinago gallinago gallinago Linnaeus, 1758 and evolutionary implications for the family Scolopacidae

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Gallinago gallinago gallinago Linnaeus, 1758 was determined by the high-throughput data. The assembled mitogenome was 16,919 bp in length, with a 58.7% A + T content and GC skew of −0.3850. Among 13 PCGs, an unusual start codon (GTG) was identified for the COX1 gene, and incomplete stop codons (T-) were found in the COX3, ND2 and ND4 genes. The function of a cytosine insertion at site 174 in the ND3 gene and its phylogenetic significance are worthy of further scrutiny. In the control region (CR), thirteen 15-bp simple sequence repeats were found in G. g. gallinago. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Gallinago was clustered at the basal position of the Scolopax clade and that the monophyly of Gallinago was also recovered. The mitogenome data of G. g. gallinago provides useful resources for further studying the evolution of Scolopacidae.