Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of the spectacled salamander, Salamandrina terdigitata (Urodela: Salamandridae), supports the existence of two distinct species

Abstract

Salamandrina is a monotypic genus of the family Salamandridae endemic to Italy. Forty five individuals of the spectacled salamander, Salamandrina terdigitata, representing 11 populations throughout the whole distribution range were examined for sequence variation of three mitochondrial DNA genes encoding the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA's and cytochrome b (1324 bp). The results indicate the existence of two genetically distinct and geographically non-overlapping mtDNA lineages. The first lineage includes the southern populations and the second one comprises the central-northern populations. The degree of genetic divergence between the two groups is high and comparable to distances calculated from homologous sequences available in GenBank between other Salamandrid species. As a result, the genus Salamandrina probably requires splitting into two species. We also compare substitution rates associated with the mitochondrial genes employed across all Salamandrids studied so far, and discuss two possible palaeogeographic scenarios which could have shaped the splitting of the two Salamandrina lineages. These findings have also important implications for management and conservations of the spectacled salamander, which is protected under several international and regional conventions and directives.

Distribution and morphological characterization of the endemic Italian salamandersSalamandrina perspicillata(Savi, 1821) andS. terdigitata(Bonnaterre, 1789) (Caudata: Salamandridae)

“…Salamandrina was found at 56 of the surveyed potential sites (12 of them had already been reported in Mattoccia et al 2005). Detailed information on the sampling localities is shown in Figure 1 and Table I.…”

“…The final length of the alignment was 1345 bp (a 370 bp fragment of the 12S gene, 552 bp of the 16S gene and 423 bp of the cytb gene). The tissue sampling, DNA sources, PCR amplification and sequencing protocols are as in Mattoccia et al (2005). Details on molecular diversity, phylogeographic structure and evolutionary history reconstruction of the two species are available in Mattoccia et al (in prep.…”

“…the northern Campania region (cf. Mattoccia et al 2005;Nascetti et al 2005;Canestrelli et al 2006), and no records were available for a large portion of Basilicata and the whole of Apulia (see Barbieri & Pellegrini 2006;Angelini et al 2007, and map therein). On the basis of these data, Salamandrina was considered absent from the whole Adriatic side of southern Italy.…”

From the experience of LIFE+ ManFor C.BD to the Manual of Best Practices in Sustainable Forest Management

“…Salamandrina perspicillata (Savi, 1821; Figure 1) occurs in Northern and Central Apennines while S. terdigitata (Bonnaterre, 1789) occurs in southern Italy (Romano et al, 2009). The spectacled salamanders (both under the name of S. terdigitata because their split is relatively recent: Mattoccia et al, 2005, Nascetti et al, 2005 are included in the annex II and IV of the Habitats Directive. Terrestrial activity of a population of Salamandrina perspicillata was studied in the ManFor site Pennataro and Montedimezzo (Central Italy), a mixed deciduous forest dominated by beech, situated at about 900 m asl, to highlight some ecological traits of this salamander and the implication for conservation during forest management.…”

Sexual dimorphism in the Italian endemic species Salamandrina perspicillata (Savi, 1821) and testing of a field method for sexing salamanders

“…Whiting this genus two different species have been recognised, mainly on the basis of genetic evidences (e.g. Mattoccia, Romano and Sbordoni, 2005;Nascetti, Zangari and Canestrelli, 2005): S. perspicillata (Savi, 1821) found in Northern and Central Italy and S. terdigitata (Bonnaterre, 1789) found in Southern Italy. Detailed distributions of both species and morphological differences between them were provided by Romano et al (in press).…”