SPECIATION IN THE STONECHAT (SAXICOLA-TORQUATA) INFERRED FROM NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCES OF THE CYTOCHROME-B GENE

The geographical differentiation and speciation in the stonechat (Saxi cola torquata; Aves: Turdidae) was studied by sequencing a 300-bp frag ment of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene. Stonechats from three dif ferent subspecies inhabiting three continents (S. t. rubicola, the Eur opean stonechat; S. t. maura, the Siberian stonechat; and S. t. axilla ris, an African stonechat) and stonechats from seven European populati ons were examined. While variation within the populations of the Europ ean subspecies was less than 0.3%, the genetic distances between the s ubspecies were substantial (2.7-5.7%) in comparison with published dat a for subspecies of other birds. If speciation is indeed reflected in the cytochrome-b gene of stonechats, species status for the African st onechat, but also for the Siberian taxon, should be reconsidered, espe cially in the light of differences in distributions, morphology and ha bitat preference.