Author/Editor		Zajc, Irena; Arntzen, Jan W
Title		Evolutionary relationships among Europan newts (genus Triturus) as inferred from two mtDNA fragments
Type		članek
Source		Pflugers Arch
Vol. and No.		Letnik 439, št. 3 Suppl
Publication year		2000
Volume		str. R21-2
Language		eng
Abstract		European newts (genus Triturus) are widely studied, but their phylogeny is not yet unambiguously resolved. Fragments of mitochondrial DNA experiencing different rates of evolution (the ATPase and 12S rDNA genes) were sequenced in order to test a phylogenetic hypothesis derived from biochemical and bahavioral data. Well supported brances of the existing phylogeny also gained support in our study. Within the subgenus Palaeotriton (the group of small-bodied newts) the monophyletic origin of the hypothesized T. boscai - T. italicus clade remained ambiguous, whereas strong support was gained for the sister-taxon relationship of T. vulgaris and T. montandoni. The position of T. vittatus within the subgenus Triturus as a sister taxon to the clade of bigbodied newts (T. marmoratus and T. cristatus superspecies) was also supported. However, the phylogenic position of the medium-sized newt, T. alpestris could not be clarified.
Descriptors		DNA, MITOCHONDRIAL PHYLOGENY TRITURUS