TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular relationships of the Israeli shrews (Eulipotyphla
T2 - Soricidae) based on cytochrome b sequences
AU - Shpirer, Erez
AU - Haddas-Sasson, Michal
AU - Spivak-Glater, Maya
AU - Feldstein, Tamar
AU - Meiri, Shai
AU - Huchon, Dorothée
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Erez Shpirer et al., published by De Gruyter. 2020.
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - The number of shrew species in Israel has been and still is the subject of debate. In this work we used for the first time a molecular marker, the cytochrome b gene, to investigate the number and identity of shrew species in Israel. Our molecular results confirmed the presence of four species: Crocidura leucodon, Crocidura suaveolens gueldenstaedtii, Crocidura ramona, and Suncus etruscus. The C. ramona sequences were found to differ from all other Crocidura species sequenced to date, supporting its status as a distinct species. Whether it is conspecific with Crocidura portali (described in 1920 from Israel and usually synonymized with C. suaveolens), will require additional study. The sequences of Israeli C. suaveolens were found to be very similar to those of Iran, Turkey, and Georgia (i.e., C. suaveolens gueldenstaedtii), in agreement with previous studies. The Israeli C. leucodon sequences, however, formed a distinct clade among C. leucodon. Finally, the S. etruscus sequences clustered with sequences from France, Italy, and Iran.
AB - The number of shrew species in Israel has been and still is the subject of debate. In this work we used for the first time a molecular marker, the cytochrome b gene, to investigate the number and identity of shrew species in Israel. Our molecular results confirmed the presence of four species: Crocidura leucodon, Crocidura suaveolens gueldenstaedtii, Crocidura ramona, and Suncus etruscus. The C. ramona sequences were found to differ from all other Crocidura species sequenced to date, supporting its status as a distinct species. Whether it is conspecific with Crocidura portali (described in 1920 from Israel and usually synonymized with C. suaveolens), will require additional study. The sequences of Israeli C. suaveolens were found to be very similar to those of Iran, Turkey, and Georgia (i.e., C. suaveolens gueldenstaedtii), in agreement with previous studies. The Israeli C. leucodon sequences, however, formed a distinct clade among C. leucodon. Finally, the S. etruscus sequences clustered with sequences from France, Italy, and Iran.
KW - Crocidura
KW - barcoding
KW - cyt b
KW - levant
KW - suncus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093532961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/mammalia-2019-0143
DO - 10.1515/mammalia-2019-0143
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AN - SCOPUS:85093532961
SN - 0025-1461
VL - 85
SP - 79
EP - 89
JO - Mammalia
JF - Mammalia
IS - 1
ER -