Phylogeography of Savi’s pipistrelle based on mitochondrial DNAGojznikar, Jan (Avtor) Trontelj, Peter (Mentor) Mayer, Frieder (Komentor) Hypsugo saviiphylogeographic analysismitochondrial lineagescryptic diversityevolutionary historyPleistocene glaciationsCryptic diversity is a well-known phenomenon in many species of Palaearctic bats that were impacted by Pleistocene glaciations. We employed four mitochondrial markers – ND1, CytB, COI and 16S rRNA – in order to summarise and expand the current knowledge on the phylogeography of one such species, the Savii’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). Using pairwise genetic distances and tree reconstruction methods, we detected five major mitochondrial lineages and two unassigned samples. Three lineages found in the Western Palaearctic (along with outlying samples) correspond to clades detected by other researchers, while the lineages found in Central Asia are harder to link to previous studies and likely represent newly discovered cryptic lineages. Judging from both the phylogeographic pattern and divergence times, it is evident that H. savii was indeed impacted by glaciations of Pleistocene and survived in separate glacial refugia. The taxonomic status of the lineages is, however, still unclear, and requires further research, especially with additional screening and using nuclear DNA markers.20212021-09-05 07:16:07Magistrsko delo/naloga129565VisID: 195222COBISS_ID: 76018947 sl