Comparison of Hyla orientalis and Hyla savignyi species in Turkey using mitochondrial and nuclear genes at molecular level.

Despite previous work on the phylogeny of Palearctic Hyla, several problems still exist regarding systematics of Hyla in Turkey. In this thesis, the systematics of tree frogs (Hyla orientalis and Hyla savignyi) in Turkey was studied using combined mitochondrial genes (12S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome b) and a nuclear gene (H3), and sampling a total of 102 individuals from 51 localities. It was found that Hyla orientalis was represented by a single lineage, whereas Hyla savignyi was divided into two lineages by the mitochondrial genes, but not the nuclear gene. It also was confirmed that Hyla arborea schelkownikowi, which is subspecies of Georgia, is a junior synonym of Hyla orientalis using both combine mitochondrial genes and nuclear gene, and was found that is not distribution in the northeastern Black Sea Regions of Turkey. This thesis also provided additional evidence phylogeny of treefrogs in Turkey, and demonstrates new localities for future researches.