A comparison of the chromosome G-banding pattern in two Sorex species, S. satunini and S. araneus (Mammalia, Insectivora)

The G-banded karyotype of S. satunini was compared with the karyotype of Sorex araneus. Extensive homology was revealed. The major chromosomal rearrangements involved in the evolutionary divergence of these species have been identified as centric fusions and centromeric shifts. From the known palaeontological age of S. satunini it is obvious that the vast chromosomal polymorphism of the S. araneus group originated during the middle Pleistocene.