Hares from Iran can be divided into three morphological groups, with Lepus europaeus inhabiting the western parts of Iran. Hares from lowland areas along the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea are morphologically similar to both L. tolai and L. tibetanus, but diagnosis is complicated by a lack of taxonomic agreement. Mitochondrial DNA suggests L. tibetanus rather than L. tolai, although comparative material is not incontestable. The third group, in more xeric habitats of eastern Iran, shows a mixture of traits characteristic of both the west Iranian L. europaeus and the Golestan population, the southeast Caspian Sea. Mitochondrial and nuclear loci reveal conflicting patterns, where hares from eastern Iran cluster with L. europaeus based on mtDNA, but with the Golestan population based on nuclear transferrin, suggesting a mixed ancestry. Ecological niche modeling indicates that the preferred habitat of the Golestan population is more restricted than that of the other two groups. Pure L. europaeus occur in areas of high seasonality, low temperature, and high precipitation, whereas the population in eastern Iran inhabits areas characterized by high contrast in daily temperatures and the highest isothermality in eastern Iran. Parts of the range of this population are also indicated to correspond to the fundamental niche of L. europaeus, yet both parental forms appear to be absent from this area occupied by individuals of apparent mixed ancestry. This suggests that the population of mixed ancestry may have selective advantages over the parental forms, and that the absence of the latter from this area may be due to competitive exclusion. As the population of mixed ancestry thus appears to be self-sustaining, incipient speciation of a stabilized hybrid may be implied.

中文翻译：

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伊朗东部高原野兔种群的单向基因渗入和杂交优势的证据（哺乳动物：Lepus Linnaeus，1758）

来自伊朗的野兔可以分为三个形态组，其中欧洲野兔栖息在伊朗西部。来自里海东南角低地地区的野兔在形态上与 L. tolai 和 L. tibetanus 相似，但由于缺乏分类学一致性，诊断变得复杂。线粒体 DNA 表明 L. tibetanus 而不是 L. tolai，尽管比较材料并非无可争议。第三组位于伊朗东部更干旱的栖息地，显示出伊朗西部 L. europaeus 和里海东南部 Golestan 种群特征的混合特征。线粒体和核位点揭示了相互矛盾的模式，来自伊朗东部的野兔与基于 mtDNA 的 L. europaeus 聚集在一起，但与基于核转铁蛋白的 Golestan 种群聚集在一起，这表明它们是混合血统。生态位模型表明 Golestan 种群的首选栖息地比其他两组更受限制。纯欧洲乳杆菌出现在季节性强、温度低、降水量大的地区，而伊朗东部的人口居住在伊朗东部日温反差大且等温度最高的地区。该种群的部分范围也表明对应于 L. europaeus 的基本生态位，但在这个由明显混合血统的个体占据的区域中似乎没有两种亲本形式。这表明混合血统的人群可能比亲本形式具有选择性优势，而后者在该地区的缺失可能是由于竞争排斥。