The Caucasian Toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814) in the Levant: evidence from mitochondrial DNA

By

Jablonski, Daniel, 1987-
Sadek, Riyad A.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-10-29

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

32

Pages

255--258

Subjects

Biogeography , Bufonidae , common toad , Middle East , mtDNA , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.32.e37560

 

Abstract

We present the first molecular analysis of the Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) complex population in the Levant. This complex contains four species distributed through the Western Palearctic. Based on the analysis of the widely used mitochondrial marker 16S rRNA, populations from the Levant belong to B. verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814) and have a close affiliation to populations from the Transcaucasian region rather than southern Turkey. Such identified relationships may imply past rapid colonisation from north to south and support the need for further research.