The Phylogeography and Demographic History of the Common Shrew Sorex araneus L., 1758 (Eulipotyphla, Mammalia)

Abstract

The phylogeographic structure of Sorex araneus was assessed on the basis of the sequences of mitochondrial cytb gene sampled across the most of the species range. Two major haplogroups were revealed: a European group, which is distributed westwards from Western Siberia, and a Siberian group, which prevails in the eastern part of the range. The Siberian haplotypes are also present in southern Fennoscandia, but are absent in the northeast of Europe and in the Northern Urals. The demographic analysis indicates a rapid species-wide expansion from a single western source at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary and a later expansion in the Siberian part of the range.