A range-wide synthesis and timeline for phylogeographic events in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many boreo-temperate mammals have a Pleistocene fossil record throughout Eurasia and North America, but only few have a contemporary distribution that spans this large area. Examples of Holarctic-distributed carnivores are the brown bear, grey wolf, and red fox, all three ecological generalists with large dispersal capacity and a high adaptive flexibility. While the two former have been examined extensively across their ranges, no phylogeographic study of the red fox has been conducted across its entire Holarctic range. Moreover, no study included samples from central Asia, leaving a large sampling gap in the middle of the Eurasian landmass.

Results

Here we provide the first mitochondrial DNA sequence data of red foxes from central Asia (Siberia), and new sequence

SUBMITTER: Kutschera VE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3689046 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature