Southernmost locality for Endangered lizard, Darevskia clarkorum (Lacertidae, Squamata) from eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey

Darevskia clarkorum is an endangered species distributed within a restricted area in Georgia and Turkey. The study has presented a new locality in the Province of Gümüşhane for the species. As the new locality is about 40 km away from the known distribution area, it is important in terms of defining the southernmost distribution area and limited locality of species. The record of the new locality of Darevskia clarkorum reveals that the species also occurs outside coastal areas. Thus, the endangered species begins to inhabit inland provinces, too

The life-history traits in a breeding population of Darevskia valentini from Turkey

We investigated the age structure, body size, longevity and growth in a breeding population of Darevskia valentini inhabiting highland altitude in Balahor, Turkey. According to the skeletochronological analysis (n= 25; 14 ♂♂, 11 ♀♀), the estimated ages ranged from 3 to 9 years (from 4 to 7 in males and from 3 to 9 in females). The maximum life span was 7 years in males and 9 years in females. The age at maturity was found to be 3 years in both sexes. The mean age and SVL were not statistically different between sexes. For both sexes, we found a significant positive correlation between body size and the number of LAGs. The growth coefficient (k) was lower in females (0.30) than in males (0.76) while asymptotic SVL was higher in females (70.06) than in males (60.55). Growth rates were found to be significantly different between both sexes (females grew faster than males). However, a low level of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) was observed in the population

Contribution to the taxonomic knowledge of Acanthodactylus (Squamata, Lacertidae): Description of a new lacertid lizard species from Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

WOS:000715827200002Acanthodactylus Wiegmann, 1834 is one of the most diverse and widespread lizard genus in the Palearctic realm. Here, we describe a new species, - Acanthodactylus ilgazi sp. nov. - from the Anatolian Peninsula. This new species ranges approximately 250 km north from the closest population of this genus in Turkey. Compared to other fringe-fingered lizards, the new species is phylogenetically close to A. robustus, A. tristrami and A. orientalis but it has some distinct morphological characteristics: reddish coloration under the tail, a sharp white or grayish stripe in the middle of the dorsum, and four plates in a row on the 4th finger. Moreover, phylogenetic molecular data, based on cyt b gene fragment, verifies that the new species is phylogenetically a member of the tristrami species group with 13.03%, 17.35% and 20.56 genetic distance respectively from A. orientalis, A. tristrami and A. robustus. Lastly, the known range of this species, located in Yazihan, Malatya in Eastern Anatolia, is restricted by a dam, thus habitat loss endangers its continuity. Therefore, the conservation status of this species should be assessed immediately

Anadolu Yarımadası’ndan iki semender türünün (Ommatotriton ophryticus & Triturus ivanbureschi) olağandışı kış aktivitesi gözlemleri

Interactions between the internal regulation and the environment drive thebiophysiological patterns of amphibians. It is well known phenomenon that newts in the northernhemisphere are tend to have hibernation strategies in winter seasons. However, the winter activityrecord for newts is quite rare. Therefore, we would like to report two winter activity cases fromAnatolia, Turkey via two newt species: The northern banded newt (Ommatotriton ophryticus) fromOrdu and Balkan crested newt (Triturus ivanbureschi) from Çanakkale. The striking outcomes ofthis study are that the Northern Banded Newt demonstrates winter activity from another localityapart from Trabzon, and the Balkan Crested Newt has been observed in winter for the first time inits natural habitat. However, it is more important that to document these winter activities areremarkable to provide valuable preliminary data for interpreting the global climate changedynamics in local cases.İç düzenleme ve çevre arasındaki etkileşimler, amfibilerin biyofizyolojik örüntülerini yönlendirir. Kuzey yarımküredeki semenderlerin kış uykusu stratejisine sahip oldukları iyi bilinen bir olgudur. Bununla birlikte, semenderler için kış dönemi aktivite kaydı oldukça nadirdir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma ile Ordu’udan Şeritli Karadeniz Semenderi (Ommatotriton ophryticus) ve Çanakkale’den Balkan Pürtüklü Semenderi (Triturus ivanbureschi) ile Anadolu’dan (Türkiye) iki kış aktivitesi kaydı verilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın dikkat çekici çıktıları, Şeritli Karadeniz Semenderi'nin Trabzon dışında başka bir lokaliteden de kış aktivitesi göstermesi ve Pürtüklü Semender'in ise ilk kez doğal ortamlarında kış aktivitesi gözleminin verilmiş olmasıdır. Bununla birlikte, bu tarz kış aktivitelerini belgelemek, lokal vakalar ile küresel iklim değişikliği dinamiklerini yorumlamada değerli ön veriler sağlaması nedeniyle dikkate değerdir

A contribution to the biogeography and taxonomy of two Anatolian mountain brook newts, Neurergus barani and N. strauchii (Amphibia: Salamandridae) using ecological niche modeling

WOS:000608377700006The Anatolian newt, Neurergus strauchii, is an endemic Anatolian species. Until recently, N. strauchii was represented by three subspecies. It has been discussed within a recent phylogenetic study in which the subspecies N. s. barani is recommended to be evaluated as a cryptic but distinct species. To address this subject, we aimed to discuss the niche differentiation between N. barani and N. strauchii using geographical and bioclimatic aspects. All georeferenced data of N. barani and N. strauchii were used to estimate the potential distributions of these species in the Anatolian Peninsula. To evaluate their ecological niche differentiation, point-based analysis and niche similarity tests were done. Ecological niche modeling outcomes demonstrated a significant niche differentiation between N. barani and N. strauchii. Moreover, since these species are distributed in the east and west of the Euphrates Basin, this river might be considered as a geographic barrier that can cause isolation for these species. Lastly, we demonstrated their potential distributions for future with several scenarios. Our findings strengthened the results of the recent phylogenetic study and indicated the necessity of handling "barani" taxa at the species level. Moreover, these results contribute, as a piece of evidence, to the biodiversity of Anatolia where another endemic species lives

Hidden diversity in a narrow valley: description of new endemic palearctic rock lizard darevskia (squamata: lacertidae) species from northeastern Turkey

WOS:000841447700004Darevskia is a particularly species-rich radiation of Palearctic rock lizards from the Caucasus region. Thanks to intense systematic and taxonomic research, the knowledge of species-level diversity within this genus has increased over the last quarter century. Here, we described a new species, Darevskia salihae sp. nov. from northeastern Turkey. The new taxon is differentiated from other nearby taxon by the low number of dorsal scales in the middle of the body, the shorter body length, and the absence of blue dots both on the lateral region above the forelimbs and on the margin of the ventral plates. In addition to their morphological differences, the new taxon is phylogenetically different from close groups. It is located in a separate subclade from the rudis-valentini-portschinskii subclade. This distinction is supported by both a high bootstrap value (100) and a high posterior probability value (1.00). These two subclades are separated from each other by a genetic distance of almost 4%. This separation is supported not only genetically and morphologically, but also geographically. Since the habitat of the new taxon is limited to a high mountain and a narrow valley, it does not provide an opportunity for a different Darevskia species to shelter because it creates geographical isolation. However, Darevskia parvula that live closest to the habitat of the new taxon live only at the habitat boundaries and do not enter areas where the new taxon is found. Therefore, it might be possible that while it was separated from the rudis-valentini-portschinskii group during the evolutionary transformation, it remained as a refuge and relict in a narrow area as a result of the collapse of the valleys and the partial uplift of the Kackar Mountains

The life-history traits in a breeding population of <em>Darevskia valentini</em> from Turkey

We investigated the age structure, body size, longevity and growth in a breeding population of Darevskia valentini inhabiting highland altitude in Balahor, Turkey. According to the skeletochronological analysis (n= 25; 14 ♂♂, 11 ♀♀), the estimated ages ranged from 3 to 9 years (from 4 to 7 in males and from 3 to 9 in females). The maximum life span was 7 years in males and 9 years in females. The age at maturity was found to be 3 years in both sexes. The mean age and SVL were not statistically different between sexes. For both sexes, we found a significant positive correlation between body size and the number of LAGs. The growth coefficient (k) was lower in females (0.30) than in males (0.76) while asymptotic SVL was higher in females (70.06) than in males (60.55). Growth rates were found to be significantly different between both sexes (females grew faster than males). However, a low level of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) was observed in the population

A new cryptic species of the Darevskia parvula group from NE Anatolia (Squamata, Lacertidae)

In this study, we re-examine the Darevskia parvula group comprehensively using morphology, osteology and mitochondrial phylogeny, and describe a new endemic species from Turkey: Darevskia tuniyevisp. nov. A total of 257 adult specimens were evaluated for external morphology (scalation and biometry) with univariate (descriptive statistics and ANOVA with post-hoc tests) and multivariate (Discriminant Analysis and ANOSIM) analyses. In parallel, osteological data and molecular analyses using three DNA markers (mitochondrial 16S rRNA and Cyt-b, nuclear Rag-1) were used to complete the description of the new taxon. The molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated that the D. parvula group is composed of three taxa as D. parvula, D. adjarica and D. tuniyevisp. nov., and showed that D. adjarica and D. tuniyevisp. nov. are reciprocal sister taxa. On the other hand, D. adjarica is morphologically very different from other two forms, while D. parvula is hardly distinguishable externally from D. tuniyevisp. nov. Therefore, we can consider that D. parvula and D. tuniyevisp. nov. are cryptic species. These two cryptic species retain their primitive morphology within the group, while D. adjarica has changed, perhaps due to different bioclimatic conditions in its Pleistocene refuge and current area

Body size and age structure of the endangered Clark’s lizard (Darevskia clarkorum) populations from two different altitudes in Turkey

We investigated age structure, body size and longevity in two breeding populations of <i>Darevskia clarkorum </i>inhabiting altitudes ranging from 450 m a.s.l. (Kamilet) to 2250 m a.s.l. (Ba¸syayla) in Turkey by skeletochronology performed on the phalanges. The mean age was found to be 6 years in the Kamilet population and 7 years in the Ba¸syayla population. The maximum life span was 10 years in the lowland population while it was 12 years in the highland population. Age at sexual maturity of both males and females was 1-2 years in the lowland population while it was 2-3 for both sexes in the highland population. Both age and SVL of specimens from the Kamilet population were significantly different between the sexes while age and SVL did not differ significantly between the sexes in Ba¸syayla population. As a conclusion, we observed that the mean age, longevity and age at maturity were increased by altitude while there was a decrease based on the mean SVL in the highland population of <i>D. clarkorum</i>. Our data on body size, longevity and age at sexual maturity may contribute to conservation efforts for this endangered species