Erkut Kivanç

On the taxonomic status of Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in Turkey

Abstract The taxonomic status and diagnostic characteristics of Meriones tristrami blackleri, M. t. lycaon, M. t. intraponticus, M. t. bodenheimeri and M. t. bogdanovi are discussed, based on material collected in Turkey. According to biomeţric and morphological comparisons, the specimens from southeastern and eastern Anatolia were found to be closer to bodenheimeri and bogdanovi than to lycaon. The white tail tip of blackleri, the dorsal colour and baculum shape of lycaon, the white incisors of intraponticus, and the short hind foot and the ear length of bodenheimeri are characteristics that distinguish these taxa from one other. The diploid number of chromosomes is 72 in M. tristrami. However, the fundamental number is 76 in blackleri and 82 in lycaon, intraponticus and bodenheimeri.

Morphological and biometrical comparisons of the baculum in the genus Nannospalax Palmer, 1903 (Rodentia: Spalacidae) from Turkey with consideration of its taxonomic importance

The morphological variability of the baculum (os penis) of 147 adult specimens of species in the genus Nannospalax from 58 localities in Turkey was examined using morphological and numerical taxonomic methods. Significant differences among all of the Turkish species in the genus were determined by morphological and biometrical comparison of the bacula, and the results of this study showed that N. nehringi and N. xanthodon are separate species and that the names are not synonyms. Additionally, because the central Anatolian mole rat populations that were classified by previous studies as members of N. nehringi or N. xanthodon had highly different baculum morphologies, these populations were classified as a different species (N. labaumei) in this study. When compared to the other populations, the central Anatolian populations, which have greater diploid chromosomal sets (2n = 56, 58, 60), had very different baculum morphologies. Whereas individuals of the species N. labaumei had the smallest bacula, the largest baculum occurred in a representative of the species N. leucodon. From this study, the results indicate that 5 different blind mole rat species (N. ehrenbergi, N. leucodon, N. nehringi, N. xanthodon, and N. labaumei) live in Turkey, and in addition to these species, some of the chromosomal races (2n = 36, 40, 52) should be treated as distinct species.

GERBIL RECORD FROM TURKEY: GERBILLUS (HENDECAPLEURA) DASYURUS (WAGNER, 1842) (RODENTIA: GERBILLINAE)

The morphology, biometry, and karyology of 33 specimens of Gerbillus from Kilis (Turkey) were examined. It was determined that the specimens were not different from the nominative Gerbillus dasyurus. Gerbillus dasyurus leosollicitus and Gerbillus dasyurus palmyrae are the nearest geographical subspecies.