Biometric analyses of the genus Meriones Illiger 1811 (Mammalia: Rodentia) species distributed in Turkey

Nuri YİĞİT, Ercüment ÇOLAK, Reyhan COLAK, Fulya SAYGILI YİĞİT, Derya ÇETİNTÜRK

Abstract


In this study, 181 samples of the five species of Meriones crassus, M. persicus, M. tristrami, M. vinogradovi and M. dahli distributed in Turkey were compared in terms of biometric characteristics. In principle component analyses (PCA), four components were explained 78.4% of total variance. Twenty-three characters, including total body length and most of the skull characters to the first component and three characters that are all related to tympanic bulla  to the second were found to be discriminative (0.7 and higher values). According to UPGMA tree, M. persicus from Parameriones subgenus morphometrically separated from other four species. M. tristrami and M. vinogradovi placed in the close cluster, M. dahli and M. crassus from the subgenus Pallosiomys connected to the previous cluster as a separate group. Discriminant function analyses (DFA) were also consistent with UPGMA tree.


Keywords


Genus Meriones, Jird, Morphometric analysis, Turkey.

Full Text:

PDF (Türkçe)

References


Baydemir N.A., Demirbaş Y., Pamukoğlu N., Albayrak İ., Yağcı T. 2011. Karyotypic studies of Meriones dahli Shidlovsky, 1962 (Rodentia: Muridae) from Turkey. Caryologia, 64(2): 179-183.

Bobrinskii N.A., Kuznetsov B.A., Kuzyakin A.P. 1965. Key to the Mammals of the U.S.S.R., 2nd edition. Izdatel stvo. Prosveshchenie, Moscow. 380 p. (In Russian)

Corbet G.B. 1978. The mammals of the palaearctic region; a taxonomic review. London, British Museum (Natural History), Cornell University Press.

Coşkun Y. 1999. Diyarbakır Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 (Rodentia: Gerbillidae) örneklerinin morfolojik özellikleri. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 23(2): 345-355. (In Turkish with English abstract)

Darvish J. 2009. Morphmetric comparison of fourteen species of the genus Meriones Illiger, 1811 (Gerbillinae, Rodentia) from Asia and North Africa. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics, 5(1): 59-77.

Dianat M., Darvish J., Cornette R., Allabadian M., Nicolas V. 2017. Evolutionary history of the Persian Jird, Meriones persicus, based on genetics, species distribution modelling and morphometric data. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 55(1): 29-45.

Ellerman J.R., Morrison-Scott T.C.S. 1951. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946. British Museum Natural History, London.

Harrison D.L., Bates P.J.J. 1991. The Mammals of Arabia. Second Edition, Harrison Zoological Museum. Kent/ England.

Heptner W.G. 1975. Uber einige Besonderheiter der Frombildung und der geographischen Verbreitung der Rennmaus, Meriones (pallasiomys) meridianus Pallas, 1773. Zeitschrift Säugetierkunde, 40: 261-269.

Kefelioğlu H. 1997. Taxonomic status and karyological characters of Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 21: 57-62 (In Turkish with English abstract).

Lay D.M. 1967. A study of the mammals of Iran, resulting from Street Expedition of 1962-1963. Fieldiana Zoology, 54: 1-282.

Missonne X. 1957. Mammifères de la Turquie Sub-orientale et du nord de la Syrie. Mammalia, 21: 53-67.

Neuhäuser G. 1936. Die Muriden von Kleinasien. Zeitschrift Säugetierkunde, 11: 161-236.

Shidlovskyi M.V. 1962. Key to the rodents of Transcaucasia. Mechniereba. Tbilisi, USSR. (İn Russian)

Vinogradov B.S., Argyropulo A.I. 1941. Fauna of the USSR. Mammals, Key to the rodents. Leningrad pub.

Yazdı F.T., Adriaens D., Darvish J. 2014. Cranial phenotypic variation in Meriones crassus and M. libycus (Rodentia, Gerbillinae), and a morphological divergence in M. crassus from the Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia (Western Zagros Mountains). European Journal of Taxonomy, 88: 1-28.

Yiğit N., Çolak E., Saygılı F., Yüce D. 2013. Allozyme variations in the genus Meriones (Gerbilinae: Rodentia) from Turkey. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 65: 299-306.

Yiğit N., Çolak E. 1998. A new subspecies of Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) from Kilis (Southeastern Turkey); Meriones tristrami kilisensis subsp. n. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 22: 99-103.

Yiğit N., Çolak E. 1999. A study of the taxonomy and karyology of Meriones persicus (Blanford, 1875) (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 23: 269-274.

Yiğit N., Çolak E., Sözen M., Karataş A. (2006). Rodents of Türkiye. Meteksan co. Ankara.

Yiğit N., Kıvanç E., Çolak E. 1998. On the taxonomic status of Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East, 16: 19-30.

Yiğit N., Kıvanç E., Çolak E. 1997. Türkiye’deki Meriones Illiger, 1811 (Rodentia; Gerbillininae) türlerinin teşhis karakterleri ve yayılışı. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 21: 361-374.

Yiğit N., Kıvanç E., Çolak E. 1998. Contribution to taxonomy and karyology of Meriones meridianus (Pallas, 1773) and Meriones crassus Sundevall, 1842 (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) from Turkey. Zeitschrift Säugetierkunde, 63: 311-314.

Yiğit N., Yiğit F.S., Çolak E., Çolak, R., Çetintürk, D. 2016. Genetic differentiation of the Meriones tristrami (Mammalia: Rodentia) subpopulations in Turkey – inferring allozyme variations. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 40: 894-899.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.