On allozyme and cyt-b gene characteristics of Cretan hedgehogs, Erinaceus concolor nesiotes Bate, 1906

To infer the phylogenetic position of Cretan hedgehogs, Erinaceus concolor nesiotes, we compared directly allozymic variation at 27 loci and 383 bp-long sequences of the mitochondrial cyt-b gene of eleven and three hedgehogs, respectively, collected at diverse locations in Crete with already published data of western and eastern hedgehogs (E. europaeus and E. concolor). Horizontal starch gel electrophoresis revealed 4 alleles at 2 polymorphic loci (Gpi, Acy) in Cretan hedgehogs. Indices of allozymic diversity were similar to those of regional samples of E. europaeus and E. concolor from Central Europe. A Wagner dendrogram based on pairwise Rogers distances showed that Cretan hedgehogs clustered clearly with the E. concolor from Central Europe. The cyt-b sequences of the Cretan hedgehogs revealed 3 closely related haplotypes, that were tightly connected to haplotypes of E. concolor from various provenances in the Balkans. In contrast, published haplotypes of E. concolor from Asia Minor and Palestine differed distinctly from the Cretan haplotypes. We conclude that Cretan hedgehogs originate from mainland-Greece or other places in the Balkans.