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New data on the distribution of Mus spicilegus Petenyi, 1882 (Rodentia, Muridae) and a distinct mtDNA lineage in the southern Balkans

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Abstract

Despite extensive zoogeographical and taxonomical studies in the subgenus Mus, several issues still remain unresolved. In this context, the distribution area of the mound-building mouse, Mus spicilegus, remains undetermined at the southernmost parts of the species’ range, possibly due to low population densities and seasonal character of mound building. The new records from Greece, presented here, significantly expand the knowledge on Mus spicilegus distribution but also reveal eastern Greek populations which are genetically differentiated from all the other Greek and European ones. These results support an additional colonization route to eastern Greece as part of the migration and expansion process of the mound building mouse in Europe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organic Farming, Technological Educational Institute, Terma Leoforou Vergoti, GR 281 00, Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece

    Giorgos P. Mitsainas

  2. Section of Animal Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patra, GR 260 01, Patra, Greece

    Giorgos A. Tryfonopoulos, Evanthia G. Thanou, Stella E. Fraguedakis-Tsolis & Basilios P. Chondropoulos

  3. Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries, Technological Educational Institute, Eirinis and Filias, GR 461 00, Igoumenitsa, Greece

    Rika Bisa

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  1. Giorgos P. Mitsainas
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Correspondence to Basilios P. Chondropoulos.

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Mitsainas, G.P., Tryfonopoulos, G.A., Thanou, E.G. et al. New data on the distribution of Mus spicilegus Petenyi, 1882 (Rodentia, Muridae) and a distinct mtDNA lineage in the southern Balkans. Mamm Biol 74, 351–360 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2008.07.004

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