Phylogenetic Origins of a Newly Found Japanese Red-bellied Newt Population in Yokohama City and Other Populations in Kanagawa Prefecture

Abstract

We uncovered the phylogenetic origins of the Japanese red-bellied newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster) population newly found in Yokohama city and 11 neighboring populations in Kanagawa Prefecture based on mitochondrial NADH6-tRNAGlu-cytochrome b DNA sequences. The Yokohama city population was found to be an alien population introduced from Western Japan. On the other hand, the other populations we investigated belong to either of two genetic lineages of the newt (CENTRAL and NORTHERN), and they are distributed parapatrically around the foot of the Tanzawa Mountains.