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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Aliens Coming by Ships: Distribution and Origins of the Ocellated Skink Populations in Peninsular Italy
Emiliano MoriFranco AndreoneAndrea VivianoFrancesco Paolo FaraoneMatteo R. Di NicolaBernardo BorriGiacomo BruniGiuseppe MazzaRiccardo BanchiMarco ZaccaroniSergio MezzadriMariella Barattisubject
Chalcides ocellatusReptiliaGeneral Veterinaryspecies introduction<i>Chalcides ocellatus</i>; mitochondrial DNA; port areas; species introduction; ReptiliaAnimal Science and ZoologyChalcides ocellatumitochondrial DNAPort areasport areadescription
The ocellated skink (Chalcides ocellatus) is a widespread lizard, naturally distributed between the Maghreb and coastal Pakistan, with few insular populations in the Mediterranean coastal area. Some populations of this species have also been recorded in peninsular Italy, Campania and Southern Tuscany due to accidental introductions via touristic and commercial routes. In this work, we conducted genetic analyses on mitochondrial DNA COXI, cytb and 16S mtDNA genes on a sample of Italian insular and peninsular populations. Differently from what previously suggested, the nucleus in Portici (Southern Italy) may have originated from Sardinia. The intense trade and touristic traffic between Sardinia and Southern Tuscany may have been responsible for the introduction of this lizard also to Central Italy.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-07-01 | Animals; Volume 12; Issue 13; Pages: 1709 |