Diversity of microorganisms in Hyalomma aegyptium collected from spur‐thighed tortoise ( Testudo graeca ) in North Africa and Anatolia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cláudia Norte ◽  
David James Harris ◽  
Diogo Silveira ◽  
Carolina Saramago Nunes ◽  
Maria Sofia Núncio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Testudo Graeca

Is the imperilled spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) native in Sardinia? Implications from population genetics and for conservation

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Corti ◽  
Uwe Fritz ◽  
Heiko Stuckas ◽  
Melita Vamberger
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Mtdna Sequences ◽  
Habitat Directive ◽  
Emys Orbicularis ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Wild Fauna ◽  
Sardinian Population ◽  
Council Regulation ◽  
Ec Law

AbstractUsing mtDNA sequences and 12 microsatellite loci, we compare populations of Testudo graeca from Sardinia and North Africa. The observed pattern of almost no differentiation combined with reduced variation in the Sardinian population is consistent with introduction in prehistoric or historic times from what is now Tunisia and neighbouring Algeria. Furthermore, in the light of the recently published recommendation to eradicate the non-native T. graeca from Italy, we review recent studies on the archaeological and fossil record, on the phylogeography and population genetics of the three other chelonian species occurring in Sardinia (Emys orbicularis, T. hermanni, T. marginata). We conclude that the extant Sardinian populations of all four species are not native. However, they are and should be safeguarded under EC law (Council Regulation No 338/97 on the Protection of Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; Flora Fauna Habitat Directive: Appendix IV, Art. 12) because they serve as a back-up for the declining mainland populations. Moreover, these populations constitute an important part of the human-shaped natural heritage of the Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Distribution of Testudo graeca in the western Mediterranean according to climatic factors

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Daniel Anadón ◽  
Andrés Giménez ◽  
Eva Graciá ◽  
Irene Pérez ◽  
Marcos Ferrández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
North African ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
The North

Despite being one of the most charismatic elements of the Mediterranean Basin fauna and its threatened status, the western Mediterranean range of Testudo graeca is at present very poorly known. The present work provides the most detailed geographical and ecological description for the North African clade of T. graeca so far. We gathered 283 occurrence data of T. graeca in North Africa and modelled the distribution by means of presence-only distribution modelling tools. The obtained model was then projected to southern Europe in order to explore whether the environmental characteristics of European populations fall into the predicted niche of the species in North Africa. T. graeca showed a wide environmental range in North Africa. Presence localities ranged from the sea level to 2090 m of altitude and from 116 to 1093 mm of annual precipitation. The presence-only model indicates that distribution in North Africa is mainly related to rainfall, specifically rainfall values in the wettest and coldest quarter of the year. The distribution model showed a range of ca. 1 000 000 km2. The projection of the model to southern Europe showed that the southern Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, as well as most Mediterranean islands, present climatic conditions within those found in the range of the species in North Africa.

scholarly journals Surfing in tortoises? Empirical signs of genetic structuring owing to range expansion

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20121091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Graciá ◽  
Francisco Botella ◽  
José Daniel Anadón ◽  
Pim Edelaar ◽  
D. James Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Drift ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Wave Of Advance ◽  
Expanding Population ◽  
Genetic Signatures

Much of our current knowledge about the genetic dynamics in range expansions originates from models, simulations and microcosm experiments that need to be corroborated by field data. Here, we report a neutral genetic pattern that matches the predictions of the genetic surfing theory. Genetic surfing occurs when repeated founding events and genetic drift act on the wave of advance of an expanding population, promoting strong spatial structure. In the range expansion of the tortoise Testudo graeca from North Africa to southeastern Spain, we found several genetic signatures consistent with surfing: a decrease of genetic diversity with distance from the initial founder area, clinal patterns in allele frequencies, rare African alleles which have become common at distal sites in the Spanish range, and stronger spatial differentiation in the expanded range than in the original one. Our results provide support for the theory that genetic drift can be an important force in shaping the genetic structure of expanding populations.

Chersine Merrem, 1820 and Chersina Gray, 1831: a nomenclatural survey

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1752 (1) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER BOUR ◽  
ANNEMARIE OHLER
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Old Greek

In the tenth Edition of his ‘Systema Naturae’, Carolus Linnaeus presented among the species of the genus Testudo (including all the turtles and tortoises, thus corresponding to the present order of Chelonians) the species Testudo graeca (Linnaeus 1758). The reference was the description and the plate published by George Edwards (1751) of a tortoise from North Africa, more precisely from the old fort of Santa-Cruz (presently Djebel Murdjadjo or “pic de l’Aïdour” 35°42’N, 0°45’W, Oran, Algeria). Several hypotheses tried to explain Linnaeus’s choice of the name graeca, one proposing that the species is the tortoise of the old Greek authors. Nevertheless, since 1758, the identity of Testudo graeca is rather well established, with a precise type locality, although the pictured holotype is lost. Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 is the type species of Testudo Linnaeus, 1758 by subsequent designation of Bell (1828).

Mitochondrial phylogeography of Testudo graeca in the Western Mediterranean: Old complex divergence in North Africa and recent arrival in Europe

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Giménez Casalduero ◽  
Rachid Rouag ◽  
Tarek Jdeidi ◽  
Soumia Fahd ◽  
Anna Hundsdörfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
North African ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Western Morocco ◽  
Recent Arrival ◽  
Eastern Morocco

AbstractWe investigated the mitochondrial phylogeography of spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca) in the Western Mediterranean. In North Africa, four major lineages (A-D) occur that together constitute a well-supported clade corresponding to one of the six major clades within T. graeca; the North African clade is sister to a Caucasian clade representing the subspecies T. g. armeniaca. Phylogenetic relationships between the North African lineages are badly resolved. Lineage A is distributed in Tunisia and adjacent Algeria, lineage B in Algeria and northern Morocco, lineage C in the Libyan Cyrenaica Peninsula, and lineage D north of the High Atlas Mts. and in the Souss Valley (southern Morocco). Lineage B is subdivided into two subgroups, B1 (eastern Morocco and Algeria) and B2 (north-western Morocco). Italian tortoises harbour haplotypes of lineage A, Spanish tortoises of subgroup B1. Based on a relaxed molecular clock calibrated with fossil evidence, the six major mtDNA clades of T. graeca are estimated to have diverged approximately 4.2-1.8 Ma ago; the split between the clades representing the eastern subspecies T. g. ibera and T. g. terrestris is younger than the split between Western Mediterranean tortoises and T. g. armeniaca. The Western Mediterranean lineages A-D were dated to have diverged at least 1.4-1.1 Ma ago; B1 and B2 split approximately 0.7 Ma ago. Our results suggest that Italian and Spanish tortoises were either introduced or originated from trans-oceanic dispersal in historic or prehistoric times. Spur-thighed tortoises invaded North Africa probably across Near Eastern landbridges that emerged in the Late Tertiary. Their diversification in North Africa seems to be correlated with habitat aridization cycles during the Pleistocene. The ranges of the Western Mediterranean lineages largely correspond to the distribution of morphologically defined subspecies in North Africa, with exception of T. g. graeca and T. g. whitei, and of T. g. lamberti and T. g. marokkensis, which are not differentiated. We propose to lump the first two subspecies under the name of T. g. graeca and the latter under the name of T. g. marokkensis. The complex differentiation of spur-thighed tortoises in North Africa implies that the model of a bipartite east-west differentiation, as proposed for other Maghrebian amphibians and reptiles, may be too simplistic, reflecting incomplete locality sampling rather than actual phylogeographic differentiation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document