The range-wide mitochondrial lineage of Natrix natrix scutata (Pallas, 1771) presented in the northern Zagros Mountains

By

Jablonski, Daniel, 1987-
Asztalos, Marika
Yılmaz, Can
Avci, Aziz

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-1-3

Original Publication

Evolutionary systematics

Volume

7

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

67--71

Subjects

Anatolia , Colubridae , Distribution , Morphology , mtDNA , Natricidae

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Hamburg Centrum für Naturkunde (CeNak) 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.7.89662

 

Abstract

Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758) is a common species distributed from Central Europe to Central Asia. In this range, it forms four subspecies that include several mitochondrial evolutionary lineages. One of the lineages, the so-called mtDNA lineage 8, has a wide distribution from the Baltic area to Anatolia and Kazakhstan. In Anatolia, this lineage meets several others, however, their occurrence is unclear, especially in the south-eastern Türkiye where the species is uncommon. Obtaining one specimen from the poorly studied Hakkâri Province (Zagros part of Türkiye), we investigated its genetic affiliation (mitochondrial DNA) and basic morphology. The specimen represents a unique haplotype of the mtDNA lineage 8, closely related to populations from Georgia and northern and north-eastern Türkiye. It thus extends the occurrence of this mitochondrial lineage representing subspecies Natrix natrix scutata (Pallas, 1771) southward to the northern edge of the Zagros Mountains. Despite the phenotype polymorphism of this species, the morphological comparison also confirmed that selected characters are similar to other populations of the region.