Phylogenetic Relationships of the Sorex araneus–arcticus Species Complex (Insectivora, Soricidae) Based on High-Resolution Chromosome Analysis

High-resolution chromosome analysis of four species of the Sorex araneus–arcticus complex (Insectivora, Soricidae), namely S. granarius, S. araneus, S. coronatus, and S. arcticus, revealed that their karyotypes are composed of the same original chromosome material that may have been present in chromosomes of S. granarius. The karyotypes of the other three species could have been derived from that of S. granarius by means of three types of chromosomal rearrangements: Robertsonian translocations, telomere–centromere translocations, and centromeric shifts. These types of rearrangements imply that the direction of chromosomal evolution in these species has been from high to low chromosome numbers. It is supposed that this reconstructed scheme of chromosomal evolution reflects the phylogenetic relationships among the species of the araneus–arcticus complex that were studied.