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interest for a geographic segment ofa species at the expense ofother populations.
For instance, the green turcle of Eastern Pacific has ofì.:en been recognised as a
distinct, endangered species, Chelonia agassizi, with clear conservation
implications, while molecular data support only subspecifìc status at best (Karl
and Bowen, 1999). In the present paper, we discuss similar problems concerning
the conservation ofMediterranean islands mammals.

ANTROPOCHOROUS MAMf-..1AL TAXA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ISlANDS

Owing to sensitivity ofislands to biologica! invasions, insular biodiversity loss
is one of the world major environmental crisis (Vitousek, 1988). Furthermore,
a historical 'typological' thinking in taxonomy ofì.:en leads zoologists to dassif)r
each insular population as a different species or subspecies (Berry, 1989).
Acceptances ofsuch typological taxonomy obviously lead to a high conservation
relevance for these insular taxa. This procedure seems particularly incorrected
for Mediterranean marnmals. H ere, a long history of human activities has had
strong effects on the island environments particularly on the endemie mammals
(Blondel and Vigne, 1993). With the arrivai of humans in the Neolicliic, an
almost complete turn over of the mammalian fauna of the islands is observed
(Cheylan, 1991; Vigne, 1992; Schtile, 1993; Masseti, 1998). Most of the
endemie species, especially the largest ones, became immediately extinct while
a few of the smaller species, such as Prolalagus sardus in Sardinia, survived unti!
Roman times (Vigne et al., 1997). Most ofpresem insular mammals have a dear
relationship with continental taxa. In fact, a slight morphological differentiation
in insular population, such as a tendency to nanism or gigantism, can evolve in
a relatively short time (Lister, 1989), without an appreciable genetic
differentiation (Filippucci, 1992). Even with a change in the chromosomal
number through a Robertsonian translocation, a character, which is ofì.:en
assumed of great taxonomic relevance, can originate in a brief period of time
(Britton-Davidian et al., 2000).

Mt DNA analysis confìrms the recent origin ofinsular populations and, ofì.:en,
their paraphily.

Frati et al. (1997) found evidence that the Sardinian fox Vulpes vulpes ichnusae
was imported at least twice from different source populations and similar results
were reached by Barome et al. (2001) for the Cretan spiny mouseAcomys minous.
A particular challenge to taxonomy is offered by the systematic position of
mammals which were introduced at a primitive stage ofdomestication in ancient
times. Molecular studies confirm archaeozoological findings (Groves, 1989;
Vigne, 1994) that suggest that wild goats and muflons ofMediterranean islands
are feral populations ofancient domestic stocks (Hiendleder et al., 1998; Kahila
Bar-Gal et al., 2002). Thus, also in agreementwith the proposal ofGentry et al.

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