Two new species of Cricetidae for the fauna of Albania

Albania represents an important area in Europe where zoological research brings interesting findings, even in a well-studied group such as small mammals. During field research in the central-south part of the country (Tomorr Mountains; Hellenides range) trapping of small terrestrial mammals was carried out. Using ten traps per night/locality, two specimens of family Cricetidae and one of family Muridae were trapped. The first two individuals were genetically and morphologically examined and identified as Chionomys nivalis (Martins, 1842) and Microtus subterraneus (de Selys-Longchamps, 1836). They represent unique mitochondrial haplotypes and the first records of these species in Albania. The third species, Apodemus sylvaticus (L., 1758), represents the first record of the species in this region and the highest recorded occurrence for the country.