Mitochondrial sequence analysis of Salamandra taxa suggests old splits of major lineages and postglacial recolonizations of Central Europe from distinct source populations of Salamandra salamandra

Representatives of the genus Salamandra occur in Europe, Northern Africa and the Near East. Many local variants are known but species and subspecies status of these is still a matter of dispute. We have analysed samples from locations covering the whole expansion range of Salamandra by sequence analysis of mitochondrial D-loop regions. In addition, we have calibrated the rate of divergence of the D-loop on the basis of geologically dated splits of the closely related genus Euproctus. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences suggests that six major monophyletic groups exist (S. salamandra, S. algira, S. infraimmaculata, S. corsica, S. atra and S. lanzai) which have split between 5 and 13 milli…