ABSTRACT
Background: Podarcis muralis, Podarcis siculus, and Podarcis tauricus are known to extend their range into the territory of Turkey. A new locality of P. tauricus was
discovered in the Çardak Lagoon, in the Anatolian part of Çanakkale, Turkey. There has been no report on the evaluation of the taxonomic status of newly recorded
population in the Anatolian side of Çanakkale. Objectives: For this reason, the purpose of this study is to investigate the phylogenetic position of this newly recorded
population using partial 16S rRNA and cytochrome b gene sequences. Methods: 16S rRNA and cyt b gene sequences of the Çardak population were compared with
the Gelibolu, Kırklareli (Thrace Region) and Şile populations (Anatolian part of İstanbul). We reconstructed the phylogenetic tree according to Neighbor-Joining tree
approach using MEGA v.6. Also we built a haplotype network to examine the haplotype diversity and structure for the concatenated mt DNA dataset. Results:
Neighbor-Joining tree and the haplotype network have the same topology showing the newly discovered population grouped together with the other P. tauricus
populations. Conclusions: According to our results, Çardak population is genetically almost similar with Gelibolu population, which isolated by Dardanelles strait.
Key Words: 16S rRNA; cyt b; Çardak Lagoon; Çanakkale; Podarcis tauricus