On the origin and systematics of the northern African wood mouse (Apodemussylvaticus) populations: a comparative study of mtDNA restriction patterns

Conflicting hypotheses have been formulated regarding the origin of wood mo use (Apodemus sylvaticus) populations in northern Africa. In this study, th e mtDNA restriction patterns of mice (n = 28) collected in Tunisia and Moro cco are compared with those of representatives from southern Europe (n = 10 2). The neighbour-joining tree confirms the existence of the three lineages previously found in the Mediterranean area: western, Tyrrhenian-Balkan, an d Sicilian. The western group is isolated from the two others, with bootstr ap values of 89 and 95%. Northern African patterns are included in the west ern group. Their variability is low, the same pattern being shared by five Tunisian and all Moroccan animals (n = 18), caught either in the north of t he country (Cap Spartel) or in the south (Marrakech). This implies that nor thern African wood mouse populations have a southwestern European origin an d that their presence in the region is probably recent, which corresponds t o both paleontological data and the hypothesis of anthropogenic introductio n.