PATTERNS OF GEOGRAPHIC-VARIATION OF TALPA-ROMANA THOMAS (INSECTIVORA,TALPIDAE) - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS DERIVED FROM A GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS APPROACH

Landmark based morphometrics was applied to investigate phenotypic rel ationships among various populations of the roman mole Talpa romana Th omas, a fossorial insectivore endemic to South Central Italy. Cartesia n coordinates of 42 landmarks were recorded on the ventral and dorsal view of the skull, from 123 specimens belonging to 32 sample localitie s. Data were first pooled on a ecogeographic basis, and then processed through various statistical and geometric analyses of size and shape. Results revealed a clinal variation of size, with the smallest moles confined in the peripheral regions of the species range. A categorical separation is observed when considering only the shape factors, with one southern population clearly distinct from all other samples examin ed. This abrupt change in shape appears mostly related to variation at the non-linear scale, with major changes localized in the braincase a nd in the palatal region of the skull. Possible historical and adaptiv e causes of the observed patterns are discussed.