Complex Origins and History of the Relict Fennoscandian Ringed Seals.

ABSTRACT: Spatiotemporal environmental heterogeneity is a major evolutionary driver, which can cause profound phylogeographic complexity, particularly at the periphery of species ranges. Ringed seals display a highly disjoint distribution, occurring in high abundance throughout the circumpolar Arctic, as well as in the Baltic Sea, Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga. These relict Fennoscandian ringed seals were traditionally regarded as originating from a single colonisation event after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), but recent studies have challenged this perception. Here, we analyse 246 mitogenomes and 180 skulls to unravel the diversity and spatiotemporal pattern of diversification in Fennoscandian ringed seals. Contrary to previous assumptions, our results reveal a complex evolutionary history characte

SUBMITTER: Tange Olsen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879273 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature