Two species of slow worm (Anguis fragilis, A. colchica) present in the Baltic region

GVOŽDÍK, Václav, Zdeněk HARCA, Alexandra HÁNOVÁ, Daniel JABLONSKI, Mihails PUPINS, Andris ČEIRĀNS and Timo PAASIKUNNAS. Two species of slow worm (Anguis fragilis, A. colchica) present in the Baltic region. Amphibia-Reptilia. Brill, 2021, vol. 42, No 3, p. 383-389. ISSN 0173-5373. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10055.

Basic information

• Original name: Two species of slow worm (Anguis fragilis, A. colchica) present in the Baltic region
• Authors: GVOŽDÍK, Václav (203 Czech Republic), Zdeněk HARCA (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Alexandra HÁNOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Daniel JABLONSKI, Mihails PUPINS, Andris ČEIRĀNS and Timo PAASIKUNNAS.
• Edition: Amphibia-Reptilia, Brill, 2021, 0173-5373.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 10613 Zoology
• Country of publisher: Netherlands
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 2.319
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14310/21:00122173
• Organization unit: Faculty of Science
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10055
• UT WoS: 000694953100011
• Keywords in English: Anguidae; Baltic Rim; contact zone; Finland; haplotype distribution; Squamata
• Tags: rivok, topvydavatel
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Five European slow worms (Anguis) have mostly parapatric distributions. Two species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, are widely distributed across the western and eastern parts of the genus range. Their contact zone runs from the north-eastern Balkans, through Pannonia to northern Central Europe. In northern Poland, the contact zone has been located approximately between the North and East European Plains. Here, we present the first mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data from Finland and the coastal Baltics. We demonstrate that A. fragilis enters the East European Plains, where it is presumably distributed along the Baltic coast. Our data indicate that A. colchica is present more inland and to the north of Riga. The genetic structure suggests three independent postglacial colonization events in the Baltics (two by A. colchica). The presence of the two species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, should be considered by the conservation legislations of Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.

Links

• MUNI/A/1098/2019, interní kód MU: Name: Výzkum Ekologických a Evolučních Principů na modelu obratlovců a jejich parazitů

Investor: Masaryk University, Category A