Incomplete mitogenome assemblies of Pleistocene prey (European wooly rhinoceroses) and predator (cave hyena) from the predators' coprolites

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) is an iconic species of the Pleistocene megafauna, which was abundant in Europe in the Pleistocene until its demise beginning approximately 10,000 years ago. Despite the recovery of several specimens from European archaeological sites, no genomes of the European population were available so far, and all available genomic data originated exclusively from the Siberian population5. Using coprolites of cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelea) recovered from two world heritage caves in Germany (Hohlenstein-Stadel [HST] and Bockstein-Loch [BSVK]), we isolated and enriched predator and prey DNA to assemble the first European woolly rhinoceros mitogenomes, in addition to cave hyena mitogenomes. So far, no mitogenomic data of a European woolly rhinoceros was available, thus the data produced here constitute a considerable addition to European megafauna paleogenomics and may help further resolve the phylogeography of woolly rhinoceroses in Europe.