Phylogenetic relationships among Southern Balkan Rutilus species inferred from cytochrome b sequence analysis: Micro-geographic resolution and taxonomic implications

The phylogenetic relationships and geographic distribution of Greek roaches (Rutilus spp.) were investigated by analyzing the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence of 84 specimens collected from 15 southern Balkan lakes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of five highly divergent haplotype groups with mean pairwise sequence divergence between them ranging from 4.1 to 9%, namely at the level of values reported for different species. These five groups correspond to four species namely Rutilus rutilus, Rutilus prespensis, Rutilus panosi and Rutilus ylikiensis. On the other hand, the existence of two highly divergent haplotype groups, which are currently attributed to R. rutilus, suggests the re-examination of the current taxonomic status of this species.