Eastern Mediterranean chameleons ( Chamaeleo chamaeleon , Ch . africanus ) are distinct
نویسندگان
چکیده
Based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences, we suggest that the founder individuals of the introduced Greek population of Chamaeleo africanus originated in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. In Ch. chamaeleon, we discovered in the eastern Mediterranean new 16S rRNA haplotypes, being highly distinct from previously published western Mediterranean haplotypes. Eastern Mediterranean haplotypes were found in samples from northern Syria, Cyprus, Crete, Samos, Malta and Tunisia. The occurrence of an eastern Mediterranean haplotype in Tunisia and of distinct haplotypes in Morocco could argue for a phylogeographic break in northwestern Africa.
منابع مشابه
Mitochondrial DNA Variation, but Not Nuclear DNA, Sharply Divides Morphologically Identical Chameleons along an Ancient Geographic Barrier
The Levant is an important migration bridge, harboring border-zones between Afrotropical and palearctic species. Accordingly, Chameleo chameleon, a common species throughout the Mediterranean basin, is morphologically divided in the southern Levant (Israel) into two subspecies, Chamaeleo chamaeleon recticrista (CCR) and C. c. musae (CCM). CCR mostly inhabits the Mediterranean climate (northern ...
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