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The phylogeography of the colubrid snake Hierophis viridiflavus was estimated using ND4 mtDNA sequences and a fragment of the nuclear marker β-fibrinogen intron 7. This species has a wide distribution across the Mediterranean region, and is characterized by three distinct colour patterns (“viridiflavus”, abundistic, and melanic-melanotic) with a quite well defined geographic distribution. The “viridiflavus” pattern occurs in the northwestern and central areas of the species' range, the abundistic pattern is typical of the individuals from Corsica and Sardinia, and the melanic-melanotic coloration is present in northeastern and southern Italy, and Sicily. A total of 42 individuals from most of the species' range (including Pyrenees, central France, Italian Peninsula, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily) were analyzed. Results support the existence of two different …