We sequences complete cytochrome b gene in Chionomys gud from the Caucasus. Results were compared with the remaining two species of the genus Chionomys: C. nivalis from Europe and the Near East, and C. roberti from the Caucasus and northern Anatolia. We tested two phylogenetic hypotheses derived from earlier morphological studies: (1) Chionomys is a monophyletic group, and (2) C. nivalis is a sister species to a cluster of C. gud and C. roberti. None of the two hypotheses was rejected.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1485523
Martino’s vole Dinaromys bogdanovi and snow vole Chionomys nivalis strongly depend on rocky conditions. Rock-dwelling small mammals partition their rocky niches only with difficulty. To assess possibility of a long-term coexistence between the two species, we examined fossil record since the Upper Pliocene and results of recent faunal surveys. Fossil evidence revealed a gradual replacement of Martino’s vole by the snow vole along the northern Adriatic. Recent survey showed that Martino’s vole is rare in the presence of the snow vole and putatively vanished from two such mountains.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1436371