QUATERNARY RADIATION AND GENETIC-STRUCTURE OF THE RED FOX VULPES-VULPES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN, AS REVEALED BY ALLOZYMES AND MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA

The Quaternary dispersal of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in the Mediterra nean area was evaluated through the study of allelic variation at 45 e nzyme loci in 120 individuals from 10 sampling sites. A 375 bp fragmen t of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was also sequenced in a total of 41 specimens from the same sampling locations. Nine allozyme loci were polymorphic. The proportion of polymorphic loci per population (P ) ranged from 0 to 15.6%, and expected average heterozygosity (H) from 0 to 4.4%. A total of 18 different Cyt b haplotypes were detected. Mo st of them were confined to only one population. Both allozyme and mtD NA data implied that our fox populations were genetically fairly isola ted from one another, suggesting low gene flow between them. This isol ation should be of comparatively recent origin according to the slight differentiation among Cyt b haplotypes. Fox populations appeared to b elong to two genetically distinct groups. With a mean value of Nei's D = 0.024, genetic distance between these groups was similar to that de tected at subspecies level in taxa of large mammals. This pattern may have originated from different colonization waves during Quaternary gl aciations and deglaciations. Red foxes from Sardinia were more closely related to the Bulgarian foxes than to the Iberian ones. However, rep eated introductions to Sardinia probably also occurred from Central It aly and Spain, as suggested by the presence of haplotype A and a typic al Central Italian allele, Ck-2(90).