The phylogeographical architecture of Spermophilus citellus is expected to shed light on the putative long-term presence of the steppic ecosystem in SE Europe. Among 31 cyt b haplotypes, three highly divergent phylogenetic lineages were recognized. The estimated time for the deepest divergence is 0.58 Mya, suggests the long-term persistence of a short-grass steppic refugium in the southern Balkans. The three phylogeographical lineages of the European ground squirrel should be regarded as independent units for conservation management purposes.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1584595
We carried out a phylogeographic study to provide a biogeographic scenario, based on molecular data, outlining the major processes that determined the current distribution of the European snow vole, a species with narrow habitat requirements and a patchy distribution. Our data retrived southern glacial refugia (Iberia, Balkans, Middle East and Italy) and one northern glacial refugium and of a simultaneous and rapid splitting due to a relatively fast initial expansion of populations.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1702355