Genetic differentiations of Hynobius naevius (Amphibia, Hynobiidae) as revealed by allozyme analysis

A survey of genetic variation of lotic breeding salamander Hynobius naevius by starch gel electrophoresis using 26 populations from southwestern Japan revealed the presence of two genetically distinct groups (GROUP-A and B) which overlap distributional ranges in some parts of Kyushu. Degree of genetic differentiation between the two groups was larger in Kyushu, including sympatric area, than in allopatric areas. We surmise that the two groups first differentiated allopatrically and overlapped their distributions secondarily. The first genetic differentiation is considered to have occurred in the Pliocene as a result of isolation between northern (GROUP-A) and southern (GROUP-B) ancestral populations by the formation of the Seto Inland Sea, largely separating the present distributions of the two groups. Genetic diversities within the GROUP-A seem to have become complicated by isolations, disappearances of local populations, and subsequent range expansion of distributions in Chugoku and northern half of Kyushu regions. Within the GROUP-B, diversities first formed by isolation by distance have been retained and accelerated secondarily by the formations of the Kii and Bungo straits. Sympatric populations of the two groups in northern half of Kyushu seem to have overlapped their ranges by niche segregation. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.