ALLOZYME VARIATION AND DIVERGENCE AMONG EUROPEAN, MIDDLE-EASTERN, AND NORTH AFRICAN SPECIES OF THE GENUS APODEMUS (RODENTIA, MURIDAE)

Genetic variation and divergence were studied by electrophoretic analysis of 28-33 gene loci in 615 specimens belonging to the murid species Apodemus agrarius, A. flavicollis, A. sylvaticus, A. alpicola, A. microps, A. hermonensis, and A. mystacinus, representing 51 populations from Italy, Austria, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Greece, Israel, Algeria, and Morocco. The mean values of heterozygosity per locus for each species ranged from 0.02 to 0.05. The mean values of genetic distance (D) among the species ranged from 0.06 (between A. flavicollis and A. hermonensis) to 1.32 (between A. mystacinus and A. agrarius). The highest D values were observed comparing A. agrarius with other Apodemus species (1.21 to 1.32). These values correspond to those generally observed among different genera in small mammals. The allozymic data also suggest a recent separation of A. falvicollis, A. alpicola, A. microps, and A. hermonensis from a common ancestor.