Primer sets
Within each of the three MarVer loci (Valsecchi et al ., 2020) oneMonachus monachus specific priming site, fulfilling the desirable criteria of high specificity for the target species, was identified (Table 2). The degree of differentiation of the three species-specific priming sites between the Mediterranean monk seal (GenBankAN: GU174602) and its closest relative, the Hawaiian monk seal (GenBankAN: MscNC_008421), was as follows: 6bp (24%), 9bp (32.1%) and 8bp (22.2%) for MarVer1, MarVer2 and MarVer3 respectively. Primers’ sequences have been deposited on the BOLD System repository (Ratnasingham & Hebert 2007).