Phylogenetic Relationships of Brown Frogs with 24 Chromosomes from Far East Russia and Hokkaido Assessed by Mitochondrial CytochromebGene Sequences (Rana: Ranidae)

Abstract

Comparisons of nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed that the brown frog from Sakhalin has genetically little differentiated from Rana pirica from Hokkaido. Although they show some differences in adult morphology, they are considered to be conspecific. These frogs have sequences substantially different from R. dybowskii from the Maritime territory of Russia, and the current taxo-nomic idea to specifically separate them is genetically supported. On the other hand, R. dybowskii from the Maritime territory is genetically well differentiated from a conspecific population from Tsushima.