Molecular identification of subspecies on the Arabian Peninsula using three mitochondrial barcoding genes and ISSR markers.

The Collared Kingfisher is widely distributed across the Indian and western Pacific Oceans and consists of about 50 subspecies. Two different subspecies of occur in the Arabian Peninsula: from the Red Sea coast and from the Arabian Sea coast in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular relationship between the two Arabian subspecies and to establish the first DNA barcodes from the Arabian Peninsula for this species.