The sheltopusik (Pseudopus apodus) in southwestern Ukraine? Insights from the museum collection

By

Oskyrko, Oleksandra
Lysenko, Roman
Jablonski, Daniel, 1987-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-4-19

Original Publication

Evolutionary systematics

Volume

6

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

71--76

Subjects

Anguidae , Biogeography , eastern Europe , museum collection , museum collection , museum collection

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Hamburg Centrum für Naturkunde (CeNak) 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.6.81752

 

Abstract

We provide data on the historical record of Pseudopus apodus (Anguidae) from Odesa, Ukraine based on the specimen re-discovered in the museum collection of the National Science and Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv (NMNH) in 2021. The data show that the specimen belongs most likely to the nominotypical subspecies, P. a. apodus (Pallas, 1775). We discussed the possible origin of the record and we concluded that the specimen was introduced to Odesa most probably from its native range (Crimea or Caucasus). The uniqueness of the record and the past human-mediated interactions thus suggest an allochthonous origin rather than the historical sign of the relict population. Thus, our data clarify the situation on species distribution in the north-western Black Sea region from where we have still limited knowledge.