2005). A new cryptic species of pond turtle from southern Italy, the hottest spot in the range of the genus Emys (Reptilia, Testudines, Emydidae). -Zoologica Scripta , 34 , 351-371. Geographic variation in the mtDNA haplotypes (cytochrome b gene) of 127 European pond turtles from Italy was investigated. Thirty-eight of the Italian samples were also studied by nuclear fingerprinting (ISSR PCR) and compared with samples from other parts of the range representing all nine currently known mtDNA lineages of Emys orbicularis . Our genetic findings were compared against morphological data sets (measurements, colour pattern) for 109 adult turtles from southern Italy. Italy is displaying on a small geographical scale the most complicated variation known over the entire distributional area of Emys (North Africa over Europe and Asia Minor to the Caspian and Aral Seas). The Tyrrhenic coast of the Apennine Peninsula, the Mt. Pollino area and Basilicata are inhabited by Emys orbicularis galloitalica , a subspecies harbouring a distinct mtDNA lineage. The same lineage is also found in Sardinia. Along the Adriatic coast of Italy and on the Salentine Peninsula (Apulia, southern Italy), another morphologically distinctive subspecies ( Emys orbicularis hellenica ) occurs, which also bears a different mtDNA lineage. A higher diversity of mtDNA haplotypes in the south of the Apennine Peninsula suggests that the glacial refugia of E. o. galloitalica and E. o. hellenica were located here. A further refuge of E. o. hellenica probably existed in the southern Balkans. The west coasts of the Balkans and Corfu have probably been colonized from Italy and not from the geographically closer southern Balkanic refuge. In Sicily, a third mtDNA lineage is distributed, which is sister to all other known lineages of Emys . Morphologically, Sicilian pond turtles resemble E. o. galloitalica . However, nuclear fingerprinting revealed a clear distinctiveness of the Sicilian taxon, whereas no significant divergence was detected between representatives of the other eight mtDNA lineages of Emys . Furthermore, nuclear fingerprinting provided no evidence for current or past gene flow between the Sicilian taxon and the mainland subspecies of E. orbicularis . Therefore, Sicilian pond turtles are described here as a species new to science. Some populations in Calabria and on the Salentine Peninsula comprise individuals of different mtDNA lineages. We interpret this as a natural contact. However, we cannot exclude that these syntopic occurrences are the result of human activity. For example, in other parts of Italy, the natural distribution pattern of Emys is obscured by allochthonous turtles. This could also be true for southern Italy. The discovery of the complex taxonomic differentiation in southern Italy requires reconsidering conservation strategies.

Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni), the best‐known western Palaearctic tortoise species, has a rare natural distribution pattern comprising the Mediterranean areas of the Iberian, Apennine, and Balkan Peninsulas, as well as Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. The western part of this range is traditionally considered habitat for T. h. hermanni, while T. h. boettgeri occurs in the Balkans. Taxonomy of this tortoise has been challenged in recent years, with the two subspecies being considered full species and the central Dalmatian populations of T. h. boettgeri being considered a third species, T. hercegovinensis. Using an mtDNA fragment approximately 1150 bp long (cytochrome b gene and adjacent portion of tRNA‐Thr gene), we investigated mtDNA diversity with regard to contrasting concepts of two subspecies or three species. Seven closely related haplotypes were identified from the western Mediterranean and 15 different, in part much‐differentiated, haplotypes from the Balkans. Western Mediterranean haplotypes differ from Balkan haplotypes in 16–42 mutation steps. One to seven mutation steps occur within western Mediterranean populations. Balkan haplotypes, differing in 1−37 nucleotides, group in parsimony network analysis into three major assemblages that display, in part, a similar degree of differentiation to that of western Mediterranean haplotypes relative to Balkan haplotypes. Rates of sequence evolution are different in both regions, and low divergence, palaeogeography and the fossil record suggest a slower molecular clock in the western Mediterranean. While monophyly in western Mediterranean haplotypes is well‐supported, conflicting evidence is obtained for Balkan haplotypes; maximum parsimony supports monophyly of Balkan haplotypes, but other phylogenetic analyses (Bayesian, ML, ME) indicate Balkan haplotypes could be paraphyletic with respect to the western Mediterranean clade. These results imply a process of differentiation not yet complete despite allopatry in the western Mediterranean and the Balkans, and suggest all populations of T. hermanni are conspecific. In the western Mediterranean no clear geographical pattern in haplotype distribution is found. Distribution of Balkan haplotypes is more structured. One group of similar haplotypes occurs in the eastern Balkans (Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, Romania and the Greek regions Evvia, Macedonia, Peloponnese, Thessaly and Thrace). Two distinct haplotypes, differing in eight to nine mutation steps from the most common haplotype of the first group, are confined to the western slope of the Taygetos Mts. in the Peloponnese. Yet another group, connected over between four and 23 mutation steps with haplotypes of the eastern Balkan group, occurs along the western slope of the Dinarid and Pindos Mts. (Istria, Dalmatia, western Greece). Taygetos haplotypes are nested within other haplotypes in all phylogenetic analyses and support for monophyly of the other Balkan groups is at best weak. We conclude that using the traditional two subspecies model should be contin...

A population of Emys orbicularis hellenica (Valenciennes, 1832) from the coastal pond of Pantanagianni was studied for two years using capture-mark recapture methods; 57.1% of specimens were females, 32.1% males, and 10.8% immature. For every specimen captured, a series of biometric parameters were applied and information relating to phenotypic characteristics was gathered. The statistically analysed data, from twenty-five sexually mature animals, clearly showed evident sexual dimorphism, with lighter males having narrower shells than those of females. Often, the average values of the parameters analysed were lower than those of other southern populations, while the females had with absolute values higher than those of males.The arrangement of the yellow marks on the shells proved to be a visible characteristic made up of yellow spots in the males and of thin lines on dark ground in the females. In both sexes, the plastron appeared mostly yellowish with the presence of larger dark specks in the males.A diffused yellow spotted carapace was often the prevailing colour of the head and the neck, with a yellowish or light brown ground in the males and darker or blackish one in the females.Yellow marks were present on the front legs and on the back of the tail which are larger then in males. The colour of the iris was often yellow or yellowish with some brown spots. Population size, sex-ratio and feeding habits were studied.KEY WORDS: Coastal pond -Emys orbicularis -Sexual dimorphism. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to express my debt and gratitude to G. Ciola, P. Friz, U. Fritz and E. Santoro for their indispensable advice.

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