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Some characteristics of the herpetofauna of the Plitvice Lakes National Park

First systematic research of the composition and distribution of the herpetofauna was conducted in the area of the Plitvice Lakes National Park from April 2015 to October 2017. The project was financed by the Public institution Plitvice Lakes National Park. Altogether 24 amphibian and reptile species were recorded, of which populations of 23 species inhabit the Park area, while one species (Emys orbicularis), whose one and only specimen was found by the shore of the lake Kozjak, was possibly accidentally introduced. Composition and distribution analyses were made, along with molecular and phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial, in some species also on nuclear DNA markers. The purpose of those analyses was multiple ; they served for identification of cryptic species, for identification of researched species' subspecies, and for determining their phylogenetic and phylogeographical relations. Results so far indicate very diverse (in some cases surprising) origin of the Plitvice populations of analysed species.

herpetofauna ; Plitvice Lakes National Park ; distribution ; phylogeny ; phylogeography

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