especially in the context of Quaternary and Holocene histories of regional biotas (Hewitt, 2001). The dramatic geological and climatic history and striking habitat diversity of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), ranging from broad plantation surfaces, basins to mountain ranges, have made it a geographic focus of many phylogeographic studies Qu et al., 2010;Xu et al., 2010;Zhan et al., 2011). As reviewed by Yang et al. (2009), the geomorphic and climatic changes on the plateau during the Quaternary have a remarkable influence on regional and adjacent biogeographic patterns.The Quaternary glaciations in the QTP and the bordering mountains were the consequence of a combination between climate and local tectonic uplift. The diversification of P. putjatia may be triggered by the tectonic movement in the Huangshui River valley during the C phase of Qingzang Movement. Subsequently, the glacial climate throughout the Pleistocene may have continued to impede the gene flow of P. putjatia, eventually resulting in the genetic divergence of P. putjatia in the allopatric regions. Demographic estimates revealed weak population expansion in one lineage of P. vlangalii (A2, the Qaidam Basin lineage) and one lineage of P. putjatia (B2, the north Qinghai Lake lineage) after approximately 42 000 years before present. However, constant population size through time was inferred for two lineages (A1 and B1), the source of Yellow River lineage of P. vlangalii and the southeast of Qinghai Lake lineage of P. putjatia, possibly due to stable populations persisting in areas unaffected by glacial advances. Our results also suggest: 1) at least four differentiated lineages of P. vlangalii complex may have evolved allopatrically in different regions during the Pleistocene glaciation events; 2) in support of several recent studies, P. putjatia is a valid species, having a more wide distribution than previously considered; and 3) a hypothesis referring to P. v. hongyuanensis, inhabiting in the source region of the Yellow River, being synonymous with P. v. pylozwi is supported.