The last species list of the European herpetofauna was published by Speybroeck, Beukema
and Crochet (2010). In the meantime, ongoing research led to numerous taxonomic …

The species problem has triggered the publication of an almost infinite number of theoretical
and practical studies, including quite a number of books. I should, therefore, perhaps briefly …

The designation of taxonomic units has important implications for the understanding and
conservation of biodiversity. Eurasian vipers are a monophyletic group of viperid snakes …

Recent studies found major conflicts between traditional taxonomy and genetic
differentiation of grass snakes and identified previously unknown secondary contact zones …

Molecular ecologists often rely on phylogenetic evidence for assessing the species-level
systematics of newly discovered lineages. Alternatively, the extent of introgression at …

Aim Allopatric speciation is the primary mode of diversification in the Mediterranean Basin.
However, the contribution of climatic adaptation during this process is contradictory. In this …

The Odonata are considered among the most endangered freshwater faunal taxa. Their
DNA‐based monitoring relies on validated reference data sets that are often lacking or do …

This paper represents an update of the list of Italian amphibians and reptiles published 15
years ago by Razzettiet al.(2006) and of the checklist published in 1993 by the late …

The genus Vipera encompasses most species of medically significant venomous snakes of
Europe, with Italy harbouring four of them. Envenomation by European vipers can result in …

Despite decades of molecular research, phylogenetic relationships in Palearctic vipers
(genus Vipera) still essentially rely on a few loci, such as mitochondrial barcoding genes …