Isolated populations of the bush-cricket Pholidoptera frivaldszkyi (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) in Russia suggest a disjunct area of the species distribution

By

Kanuch, Peter
Dorkova, Martina
Mikhailenko, Andrey
Polumordvinov, Oleg
Jarcuska, Benjamin
Krištín, Anton

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

665

Pages

85-92

Subjects

Declining species , Insecta , mountain habitats , mtDNA , phylogeography , range fragmentation

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.665.12339

 

Abstract

Phylogenetic analysis and assessment of the species status of mostly isolated populations of Pholidoptera frivaldszkyi in south-western Russia occurring far beyond the accepted area of the species distribution in the Carpathian-Balkan region were performed. Using the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment, we found a very low level of genetic diversity in these populations. Phylogeographic reconstruction did not support recent introduction events but rather historical range fragmentation. The grouping of the Russian and Romanian haplotypes in a distinct phylogenetic clade suggests that the pre-glacial range of P. frivaldszkyi had extended towards the Ponto-Caspian region, with considerable gene flow between different refugia. However, post-glacial northward expansion of the species from supposed Caucasus refugia contributed most likely to the current disjunct distribution of this relict-like bush-cricket.