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The libyan jird is one of the most widely distributed species among wild rodents, with its range extending from Morocco to China. Fifteen subspecies were described but their validity and the phylogenetic relationships among them are uncertain. Based on a comprehensive sampling, this study aims to define subspecies limits within Meriones libycus and to discuss the factors driving subspecific diversification. We used an integrative approach combining molecular (Cytochrome b and Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1 genes) and geometric morphometric data. Genetic data allowed us to identify three allopatric lineages within M. libycus: Western lineage in North Africa, Central lineage in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, and Eastern lineage in Iran, Afghanistan, and China. These three lineages can also be differentiated based on skull morphology. Our results support the existence of at least three subspecies within the libyan jird: Meriones libycus libycus, M. l. syrius, and Meriones libycus erythrourus. Based on our divergence time estimates, all divergence events within M. libycus probably occurred during the Pleistocene, after 1.597 Ma. Quaternary climate fluctuations in the Sinai Peninsula explain the differentiation between the African M. l. libycus and the Levant‐Arabian M. l. syrius. The differentiation of M. l. syrius with respect to the eastern M. l. erythrourus is putatively linked to the climatic fluctuations and tectonic activity of the Zagros Mountains and/or the Mesopotamia Plain of Iraq during the Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five-toed jerboas of the genus Allactaga inhabit arid areas of Asia and North Africa and are widely distributed in deserts, semideserts, and steppe regions of Iran. Many morphological and morphometric studies have been carried out on this genus; however, there is little molecular data available on them. Therefore, their phylogenetic relationships need to be evaluated. Here, using sequences of 903 and 632 bp of two mitochondrial DNA genes, cytochrome b ( Cytb) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I ( Cox1), the phylogenetic relationships of five nominal species of Allactaga were evaluated from the Iranian Plateau. Phylogenetic trees were constructed on the basis of maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. The resulting trees supported seven major clades: (1) Allactaga firouzi and A. hotsoni, (2) A. williamsi, (3) A. euphratica, (4) A. elater from Esfahan and Tehran, (5) A. toussi, (6) A. elater from Golestan, and (7) A. elater from Kashmar and Golestan. On the basis of the results of current study, A. firouzi and A. hotsoni are synonymized, while A. elater could be considered a complex species with three subclades. In addition, the geographic distribution analysis of the species was clarified and as a result, A. euphratica is a new record for the Ilam region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While sampling house mice in 2022 in the westernmost region of the Czech Republic, we also captured other small mammal species in and around farms. The sympatric shrew species were pre-identified based on morphological characteristics and genotyped using the mitochondrial cytochrome b marker. Among them, 14 specimens from five different localities were identified as the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula). With previous records from southern Saxony in Germany, our findings are the easternmost records of C. russula distribution in Europe and the first report of this species in the Czech Republic. The four other shrew species captured during fieldwork (C. suaveolens, C. leucodon, Sorex minutus, and S. araneus) are widely distributed in this country. The checklist of Eulipotyphla from the Czech Republic, which currently lists ten species (C. leucodon, C. suaveolens, S. alpinus, S. araneus, S. minutus, Neomys milleri, N. fodiens, Talpa europaea, Erinaceus europaeus, E. roumanicus), should now be updated with this new entry. The arrival of C. russula in the Czech Republic should be closely monitored as this species has been regularly reported for its competitive behaviour leading to the local extinction of resident shrew species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]