Aliens in their native country: the case of the Alpine marmot Marmota marmota (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mammalia, Rodentia) in the Apennine ridge

The distribution of the Alpine marmot released in the Northern Apennines has been largely unstudied.In this note, we summarise the current distribution and the altitude range of the Alpine marmot in theApennine ridge, 80 years after their first releases. We searched for marmot occurrence on theApennines (i) on citizen-science platforms and (ii) through a webmail on Sciuridae distribution in Italy.We collected 80 marmot records validated by photos and by field investigations. We showed thatAlpine marmots are present on over 70,000 ha in the Apennines, between Emilia Romagna andTuscany. Most occurrences were recorded between 1600 and 1700 m a.s.l., in lines with other works onthis species. Although the introduction of the Alpine marmot in the Apennines appears to have beensuccessful, further molecular and ecological data are needed to assess origins and potentialenvironmental impacts (e.g. on soil stability) of these established populations. This work may representa description of the current status of this species, to be compared with future monitoring. In turn,updating the distribution of the Alpine marmot in the Apennines in the next years may be useful toassess potential distribution shift towards higher altitudes as a response to local climatic change.