Comparative analysis of qualitative dermatoglyphic traits of Albanian and Turkish populations living in the area of Dukagjin Valley in Kosovo

Dermatoglyphic prints were collected from 800 inhabitants of Dukagjin valley in Kosovo. The sample consisted of two ethnically different sub-populations who refer themselves as Albanians (N = 400) and Turks (N = 400). Qualitative analysis of prints concerned the frequency of the patterns on fingers (arch, ulnar and radial loop, whorl, accidental whorl) and on palms (Thenar and I, II, III, and IV interdigital area and the hypothenar, main line index, and the axial "t" triradius position). As was expected due to previous study of quantitative dermatoglyphic traits, in the same population the Alba-nians and Turks showed to be significantly different in most explored qualitative dermatoglyphic variables. Found differences indicated that the reproductive isolation between the Albanian and Turkish population in Kosovo is substantial, despite the fact that those two ethnic sub-populations live in the close vicinity through several centuries.