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

Phylogenetic relationships of <i>D. rudis</i> (Bedriaga, 1886) and <i>D. bithynica</i>(Mehely, 1909) based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA in Turkey

<p>The spiny-tailed lizard of the genus <i>Darevskia</i> have a series of taxonomic revisions, but still their phylogenetic relationships remain uncertain. In the present study, we have assessed taxonomic relationships among <i>Darevskia bithynica</i> and <i>Darevskia rudis</i> populations through estimation of phylogenetic relationships among 96 specimens using microsatellite DNA (<i>Du215</i>, <i>Du281</i>, <i>Du323</i> and <i>Du418</i> loci) and 53 specimens using mtDNA (16S rRNA and cytb) from main populations in Turkey. Although <i>D. b. bithynica</i> and <i>D. r. mirabilis</i> were separated based on the PCoA analysis at low level from other <i>D. rudis</i> and <i>D. bithynica</i> populations, the distance values of Nei's genetic distance, Nei's unbiased genetic distance, Fst and Linear Fst were not high among taxa in microsatellite DNA. On the other hand, our phylogenetic analyses (NJ, ML, MP and BI) did not separate <i>D. rudis</i> and <i>D. bithynica</i> populations. Finally, most of the topologically identical trees of phylogenetic analyses and microsatellite results showed that the extant populations of <i>D. rudis</i> and <i>D. bithynica</i> were found to be polytomy. Based on our molecular phylogenetic study, <i>D. rudis</i> complex is still ongoing revisions.</p