Question

I'm writing a novel where there is a drowned body in an inland lake. The idea is that she was drowned after a fight in a container containing sea water for smuggling a recently extinct (in the novel, supposedly extinct) or a rare marine animal, and there was also some species of alga in her lungs.

Hence, I'm looking for two species from the same ocean or sea (endemic or not), where some info on the genome is known. The best thing (or you tell me if it makes sense at all) I could come up with so far is the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) and brown alga of some species which I think is mostly found in the North Atlantic.
Very grateful for any info on the genome (no details necessary, just whether the DNA has been sequenced and whether it would be possibly to identify by a tissue sample), chromosome number and other info on the great auk and some Phaeophyceae alga or any other input for a fitting pair of species. My novel is set in 1994, and they identify the species by forensic PCR methods, no need for a specific match, but by a shred of skin or so I need two marine species identified (not with 100% certainty, good odds or a near-match is enough) by some forensic way, can be anything really, one of them small enough to be in the water in the lungs of a drowned body. Or a genus could be enough, the plot element is just that she drowned in a container used to transport an animal.
Sorry if it's inappropriate to ask this here, it's not a scientific question I know, but I trust I get the highest quality input here. Actually, the alga is of secondary priority, if someone could point out a recently extinct marine animal which can be matched by its DNA, or by a tissue sample using some other method, I can even scratch the alga, but it would be a nice cherry on top.

Answer 1

The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) and the brown alga Codium fragile are two marine species that could be used in your novel. The DNA of both species has been sequenced, making it possible to identify them by a tissue sample using forensic PCR methods. The alga could easily be found in the lungs of a drowned body as it is small enough to be inhaled.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) and the brown alga Codium fragile are two marine species that could be used in your novel. The DNA of both species has been sequenced, making it possible to identify them by a tissue sample using forensic PCR methods. The Great Auk is a recently extinct bird species, while Codium fragile is a type of brown alga primarily found in the North Atlantic. The alga could easily be found in the lungs of a drowned body as it is small enough to be inhaled.