Hadjisterkotis Eleftherios, Konstantinou George, Sanna Daria, Pirastru Monica, Mereu Paolo
Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 22016, Nicosia 1516, Cyprus.
Society for the Protection of Natural Heritage and the Biodiversity of Cyprus, Keryneias 6, Geri 2200, Cyprus.
Life (Basel). 2020 Aug 5;10(8):136. doi: 10.3390/life10080136.
Invasive species are the primary driver of island taxa extinctions and, among them, those belonging to the genus are considered as the most damaging. The presence of black rat () on Cyprus has long been established, while that of brown rat () is dubious. This study is the first to provide molecular and morphological data to document the occurrence of in the island of Cyprus. A total of 223 black rats and 14 brown rats were collected. Each sample was first taxonomically attributed on the basis of body measurements and cranial observations. Four of the specimens identified as and one identified as were subjected to molecular characterization in order to corroborate species identification. The analyses of the mitochondrial control region were consistent with morphological data, supporting the taxonomic identification of the samples. At least two maternal molecular lineages for were found in Cyprus. The small number of brown rats collected in the island, as well as the large number of samples of black rats retrieved in the past years might be an indication that the distribution of is still limited into three out of the six districts of Cyprus.
入侵物种是岛屿生物分类群灭绝的主要驱动因素，其中，属于该属的物种被认为是最具破坏性的。塞浦路斯长期以来一直存在黑鼠（），而褐鼠（）的存在则存疑。本研究首次提供分子和形态学数据，以记录塞浦路斯岛上褐鼠的出现情况。共收集了223只黑鼠和14只褐鼠。每个样本首先根据身体测量和颅骨观察进行分类归属。为了证实物种鉴定，对4只鉴定为褐鼠的标本和1只鉴定为黑鼠的标本进行了分子特征分析。线粒体控制区的分析与形态学数据一致，支持了样本的分类鉴定。在塞浦路斯发现了至少两个褐鼠的母系分子谱系。该岛收集到的褐鼠数量较少，以及过去几年回收的大量黑鼠样本，可能表明褐鼠的分布在塞浦路斯六个区中的三个区仍然有限。
