Vol. 45 No. 3, 2006

Phylogenetic Evaluation of Three Subspecies from the Mustela nivalis Group

Urmas Saarma^1,2,* and Igor L. Tumanov³

¹Department of Integrative Zoology, Institute of Zoology and Hydrobiology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
²Estonian Biocentre, Riia 23, 51010 Tartu, Estonia
³Research Institute of Nature Conservation of the Arctic and North, Chornoy Rechki 8-40, St. Petersburg 197183, Russia

Urmas Saarma and Igor L. Tumanov (2006) Extensive morphological variation has been a foundation for speculation and controversy about the evolutionary history and systematics of the Mustela nivalis group. Our aim was to assess the phylogenetic relationship of 3 subspecies of the Mustela nivalis group: M. n. dinniki, M. n. boccamela, and M. n. heptneri. A phylogenetic network, based on partial mtDNA cytochrome b sequences, revealed that all analyzed subspecies belong to the same clade with M. n. nivalis. These results support the hypothesis that the M. nivalis group can largely be considered a single species with remarkable phenotypic and geographic variations.

Key words: Mustelids, Cytochrome b, Phylogeny, Speciation, Subspecies.

*Correspondence: Tel: 372-7375099. Fax: 372-7375830. E-mail: Urmas.Saarma@ut.ee