AGE STRUCTURE AND BODY SIZE OF Mertensiella caucasica (WAGA, 1876) (CAUDATA: SALAMANDRIDAE) IN A POPULATION FROM TURKEY

Here we present the age structure of a breeding Caucasian Salamander population from a high-altitude locality (Kazikbeli Plateau, Kurtun, Gumushane; 2213 m a.s.l.). Age structure was analyzed by counting lines of arrested growth (LAG). Endosteal resorption raised difficulties of counting LAGs. Males were found to be average older than females. Range of age was from 5 to 11 years in males, 4 to 8 years in females and 1 to 3 years in juveniles. Snout-vent length (SVL) of each individual was used as body size and mean values were recorded as 64.24 mm in males, 58.45 mm in females, and 44.60 mm in juveniles. Difference of SVL between sexes was found statistically significant. Meanwhile, male-biased sexual dimorphism was calculated (SDI = -0.099). The SVL was correlated with age in both sexes as strongly positive

Amphibians and reptiles of South Ossetia

For the first time we have summarised the results of the study of batraho- and herpetofauna of the Republic of South Ossetia. We present an Annotated List of species as authentically living in the region, as well as ever mentioned for it in literature, field notebooks, museum collections and our own expeditions in South Ossetia. The batrachofauna of the Republic of South Ossetia counts nine species and the herpetofauna 19 species. It provides a complete inventory of all finds (65 localities). A number of confirmed species have been assigned for the first time in scientific literature for the territory of South Ossetia: Emys orbicularis, Darevskia mixta, Natrix megalocephala, Hierophis schmidti, Pelias dinniki, P. kaznakovi. We detected the morphological specificity of the South Ossetia' populations of Darevskia praticola, D. brauneri and D. caucasica. The Assessment of conservation status has been evaluated for all forms of amphibians and reptiles in the region. According to its results, five amphibian species and ten reptile species are recommended for inclusion into the Red Data Book of the Republic of South Ossetia. The central problem of environmental activities in the Region is the lack of a network of different rank protected areas covering all natural zones and altitudinal belts. The South Ossetian State Nature Reserve is the single protected area of South Ossetia, which provides protection only for three endangered species of amphibians and three species of reptiles

On taxonomic status of shield-head vipers from Turkish Lesser Caucasus and East Anatolia

International audienc

Phylogenetic relationships of the populations of Iranolacerta brandtii

The Persian Lizard, Iranolacerta brandtii, was until recently considered to be restricted to north-western Iran (Azerbaijan and Esfahan provinces). However, two recent studies have revealed the existence of populations in Eastern Anatolia, extending the range of this species for about 230km westwards. The fragmented distribution of this species has been considered to be a consequence of the climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene and Holocene, which created events of alternating contact and isolation of populations in distinct glacial refugia. According to our obtained genealogy derived from three mitochondrial fragments (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and cytb), the Turkish specimens cluster together but form an independent clade, sister to the individuals from Tabriz in Iran. The separation of these two clades is concurrent with the cladogenesis between the Esfahan and Ardabil clades, estimated to have taken place during the late Holocene