The Italian peninsula hosts a divergent mtDNA lineage of the water vole, Arvicola amphibius s.l., including fossorial and aquatic ecotypes

摘要: We characterized eighteen water voles, Arvicola amphibius (s.l.), from five populations along the Italian peninsula by means of mtDNA cytochrome b (Cytb) sequences. The samples included aquatic voles and one fossorial population northern Italy. standard karyotype four central was also analysed identical to found in other outside Phylogenetic analyses, including vole Cytb haplotypes entire range, indicated existence a well supported highly divergent lineage (4.3%), sister all haplotypes. are not genetically differentiated nearby belong same taxon. Given high divergence results previous investigations on allozymes hybrid fertility, we believe that belongs distinct species, italicus Savi, 1838, with type locality near Pisa, although morphological assessment skull is necessary define it.