Phylogeography of the Alpine salamander, Salamandra atra (Salamandridae) and the influence of the Pleistocene climatic oscillations on population divergence

Fifty individuals of the endemic Alpine salamander, Salamandra atra, repres enting 13 populations throughout the range of the two currently recognized subspecies, atra and aurorae, were examined for sequence variation in a lar ge portion (1050 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. We revealed a large number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes (10). Interpopulation sequence divergence was very low, ranging from 0 to 3.1%. The relationships among haplotypes were poorly resolved. The divergence time estimate betwee n several mtDNA haplotypes suggested a pre-Pleistocene differentiation appr oximately 3 million years ago. Moreover, the impact of the Pleistocene glac iations on the phylogeographical patterns appears to have been secondary, a lthough a somewhat reduced genetic variability was found in populations liv ing in areas that were directly affected by the glaciation.