Clinical Hematology of the Nose-Horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus 1758)

The establishment of hematological profiles of animals taken from their natural environment or kept in captivity has great importance in determining the health status and biology of these species. Pollution in the habitat of reptiles and the impact of various diseases can be determined by analyzing blood parameters. In this study, the clinical hematology (erythrocyte and leukocyte count, erythrocyte types, differential blood formula, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) of three Nose-horned Vipers (Vipera ammodytes) captured from Vize (Kırklareli, Türkiye) were examined. We detected the frequency of nuclear abnormalities in this species for the first time. We also provide the first erythrometric measurements of Vipera ammodytes, and found that the erythrocyte sizes of this species were larger compared to other species in Viperidae. Knowledge of the general health status of animals is important in species conservation action plans and monitoring studies

Variation in body size and age structure of stellagama stellio (L., 1758) (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Turkey

WOS: 000334089600008Age and body size of 81 Stellagama stellio (syn. Laudakia stellio) specimens from five regions of Turkey were studied using skeletochronology. Lines of arrested growth (LAGs) in phalanges were used to estimate the age. Snouth vent length (SVL) ranged between 90.05 - 133.14 mm (mean: 109.58 +/- 10.26) in males and 86.24 - 130.43 mm (mean: 105.83 +/- 10.68) in females. Age ranged between 2-9 (mean: 5.34 +/- 1.63) in females and 3-10 years (mean: 5.72 +/- 1.82) in males. We did not observe any significant difference in terms of age and SVL between sexes. Intersexual differences in body size were male-biased (SDI =-0.03) but this relation was not statistically significant. A significant difference between the lowland (below 800 m) and mountain (above 800 m) populations was found in respect of SVL, with mountain individuals being larger than the lowland. A significant age difference between lowland and mountain populations was not found. A significant positive correlation was found between age and SVL both in males and females. Individuals reached maturity between 2 and 3 years

ANALYSIS OF HERPETOFAUNAL DIVERSITY OF ISTANBUL ISLANDS WITH THE NEW RECORDS OF THREE LOCALITIES

Studies that aim to discover amphibian and reptilian species were conducted in the Istanbul islands which consists of Buyukada, Heybeliada, Burgazada and Kinaliada, during the years 2016-2019. The latest research of the islands was done 39 years ago and no studies were conducted since then. This study investigated the differences in species of amphibians and reptiles over these years. Bufotes variabilis (Pallas, 1769) from Buyukada, Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Heybeliada and Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 from Kinaliada were given as new records from these localities. Principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to analysis the correlation of the amphibian and reptile diversity between Istanbul islands, Marmara islands and mainland. PC1 (eigenvalue of 1.91082) was accounted for 45.86 % of the variation. Results of PCA, Podarcis sloth's (Rafinesque & Schmaltz, 1810) was observed to display an extant and dominant population in all of the islands. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was performed to assess the similarity in species among the islands. According to HCA, three cluster groups were formed. Islands of Istanbul have separate groups from other islands and mainland

Changes in the blood composition of some anurans

We examined some hematological parameters (red blood cell count, white blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell haemoglobin concentration and plasma total protein) on five anuran species of terrestrial (<em>Pseudepidalea viridis</em>, <em>Pelobates syriacus</em> and <em>Hyla arborea</em>), semi-aquatic (<em>Rana dalmatina</em>) and aquatic (<em>Pelophylax ridibundus</em>) nature from Çanakkale, Turkey. Differences between males and females in terms of haemoglobin, hematocrit and mean cell volume in <em>P. viridis</em> were statistically significant. The RBC count was higher in terrestrial and aquatic species than in semi-aquatic species. Haemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value, MCV and MHC were higher in terrestrial species than in semi-aquatic and aquatic species. The MCHC values were all similar to each other. The plasma total protein was higher in terrestrial species than in aquatic species. To sum up, variations were detected in the some hematological parameters under examination among the anuran species