Mitochondrial genetic variation in long-eared hedgehogs, Hemiechinus auritus, from the Anatolian Peninsula and Cyprus

Abstract

Mitochondrial genetic variation was examined in long-eared hedgehogs, Hemiechinus auritus, from the Anatolian Peninsula, the adjacent island of Cyprus and from Azerbaijan. These data were compared with those available from other parts of the species’ range in North Africa and Asia. Two distinct cytochrome-b lineages are present in Anatolia, one of them previously unknown. The lineage found in south-eastern Anatolia has previously been identified in Egypt and is likely present around the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The close relationship between haplotypes from Cyprus and those from Egypt suggests that the island was colonised from North Africa, or perhaps the Middle East, rather than Anatolia. The new lineage, which can be referred to the subspecies H. a. calligoni, was only found in the extreme eastern part of Anatolia and may have been isolated from neighbouring lineages to the south-west and to the east by the Taurus and Caucasus mountain ranges, respectively.