Reconstructed historical distribution and phylogeography unravels non-steppic origin of <i>Caucasotachea vindobonensis</i> (Gastropoda: Helicidae).

ABSTRACT: Existing data on the phylogeography of European taxa of steppic provenance suggests that species were widely distributed during glacial periods but underwent range contraction and fragmentation during interglacials into "warm-stage refugia." Among the steppe-related invertebrates that have been examined, the majority has been insects, but data on the phylogeography of snails is wholly missing. To begin to fill this gap, phylogeographic and niche modeling studies on the presumed steppic snail Caucasotachea vindobonensis were conducted. Surprisingly, reconstruction of ancestral areas suggests that extant C. vindobonensis probably originated in the Balkans and survived there during the Late Pleistocene glaciations, with a more recent colonization of the Carpatho-Pannonian and th

SUBMITTER: Kajtoch L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5965669 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature