The first results on phylogeography and genetic structure of Rana dalmatina (Amphibia: Ranidae) in Türkiye

We still have limited knowledge concerning the phylogeography of amphibians and reptiles from the Anatolian Peninsula. We focused on Rana dalmatina and conducted phylogenetic analyses to reveal the phylogeography of this species based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit-I (COI, 531 bp) gene differentiation. Consistent with the literature, we found a very low genetic variation among R. dalmatina specimens from T & uuml;rkiye, ranging from 0.000 to 0.009. Additionally, we identified a suitable time for diversification for specimens from T & uuml;rkiye and certain parts of Europe. The specimens from T & uuml;rkiye are separated from those of European members in the middle to late Pleistocene (680,000 to 1.06 million years ago). Age of divergence and the level of currently observed genetic diversity are not compatible with each other. A low level of nucleotide diversity and a high level of haplotype diversity support rapid colonisation with limited gene variability in R. dalmatina. Based on Bayesian inference and ML trees, the specimens from Greece were located in different branches. In contrast, all specimens from the other localities from Europe (Germany, Austria, and Slovakia) and T & uuml;rkiye shared the same branch. Here, we present the first study to enlighten the genetic differentiation level, phylogeography, and phylogenetic relationship of R. dalmatina with a considerably wide range of specimens.