Phylogeography of an Anatolian endemic and Alpine specialist woolly dormouse Dryomys laniger with a description of a new species

Abstract

The genus Dryomys, represented by four species, spreads a variety of habitats, including forests and mountains. The Wooly Dormouse (Dryomys laniger) is a rock-dwelling alpine species endemic to South and Central Anatolian mountains. No targeted study has been conducted to explore the full distribution area of this species nor to reveal the phylogenetic structure within the species. We used CYTB and IRBP as a molecular marker to see intraspecific diversity of the species. Besides this, morphological characters are used to reveal differences between the populations. Phylogenetic trees showed that Dryomys laniger has two different mtDNA clades, each with a distinct distribution range. The representatives of the most distinct clade also have a number of shared and distinct morphological features, and we hereby describe it as a new endemic species Dryomys anatolicus sp. nov. The other clade comprises two different clades. Despite considerable molecular differences between the two clades, we could not find any difference in morphology. Two endemic species have a complex history in Anatolia starting in the late Oligocene epoch. In that era, the ancestors of Dryomys laniger and Dryomys anatolicus separated from Dryomys nitedula and started to adapt to high altitudes. Then complete divergence between the two species occurred at the beginning of the Pliocene. In this study, we suggest that geologic events and climate have a big role in speciation events between Dryomys laniger and Dryomys anatolicus.