Two species of slow worm (Anguis fragilis, A. colchica) present in the Baltic region

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Authors

GVOŽDÍK Václav HARCA Zdeněk HÁNOVÁ Alexandra JABLONSKI Daniel PUPINS Mihails ČEIRANS Andris PAASIKUNNAS Timo

Year of publication 2021
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Amphibia-Reptilia
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10055
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10055
Keywords Anguidae; Baltic Rim; contact zone; Finland; haplotype distribution; Squamata
Description Five European slow worms (Anguis) have mostly parapatric distributions. Two species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, are widely distributed across the western and eastern parts of the genus range. Their contact zone runs from the north-eastern Balkans, through Pannonia to northern Central Europe. In northern Poland, the contact zone has been located approximately between the North and East European Plains. Here, we present the first mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data from Finland and the coastal Baltics. We demonstrate that A. fragilis enters the East European Plains, where it is presumably distributed along the Baltic coast. Our data indicate that A. colchica is present more inland and to the north of Riga. The genetic structure suggests three independent postglacial colonization events in the Baltics (two by A. colchica). The presence of the two species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, should be considered by the conservation legislations of Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.
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