Mitochondrial sequences retrieve an ancient lineage of Bicolored shrew in the Hyrcanian refugium

In this study we analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b genes (1137 bp) of nine shrews from the Caspian region in Iran. Phylogenetic trees obtained in Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses retrieved a sister position of our Iranian haplotypes (Iranian lineage) against all the remaining C. leucodon samples from Europe, Turkey and Georgia (Euro-Asian lineage). Identical topology was also evident from the unrooted phylogenetic network. The Euro-Asian and the Iranian lineages were separated by a K2P genetic distance of 7.5 ± 0.9 and diverged 1.14 Mya (95% CI: 0.841-1.616). The geographic range of the Iranian lineage is evidently restricted to the Hyrcanian region south of the Caspian Sea which abounds with small range mammalian endemics.
Source: Mammalian Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: research