Age determination of Heremites vittatus Bridled Skink Olivier, 1804 using skeletochronology in Sivas population, Turkey

Abstract

The knowledge of age structure, age of sexual maturity and lifetime in reptiles helps to understand their ecological and evolutionary aspects of life story traits. In this study, the age structure of the female individuals belonging to Heremites vittatus Bridled Skink from Sivas Turkey was revealed for the first time. Accordingly, the maximum life span was determined to be 5 years for this species. A significant relationship was found between age and body size in individuals whose head length, head width and body length were determined. In addition to this, there is a significant relationship between body length, head length and head width

Keywords

• skeletochronology,Heremites vittatus,Sivas,age determination

Sivas Heremites vittatus Şeritli Kertenkele Olivier, 1804 örnekleri üzerinde İskelet kronolojisi yöntemi ile yaş tayini

Abstract

Sürüngenlerde yaş yapısının, eşeysel olgunluk yaşının ve ömür uzunluğunun bilinmesi onların yaşam öyküsü özelliklerinin ekolojik ve evrimsel yönleri ile anlaşılmasında yardımcı olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Sivas Türkiye ’tan Heremites vittatus Şeritli Kertenkele türüne ait dişi bireylerin yaş yapısı ilk defa ortaya konulmuştur. Buna göre en uzun yaşam uzunluğu bu türün dişi bireyleri için 5 yıl olarak tespit edilmiştir. Baş uzunluğu, baş genişliği ve vücut uzunluğu belirlenen bireylerde, yaş ve vücut boyu arasında anlamlı bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, vücut uzunluğu, baş uzunluğu ve baş genişliği arasında da anlamlı bir ilişki mevcuttur

Keywords

• iskelet kronolojisi,Heremites vittatus,Sivas,yaş tayini

References

1. Anderson, S. C. (1999). The lizards of Iran (Vol. 15). Ithaca, New York, USA: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
2. Bahmani, Z., Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Rastegar-Pouyani, N. (2017). The phylogenetic relationships and molecular systematics of scincid lizards of the genus Heremites (Sauria, Scincidae) in the Middle East based on mtDNA sequences. Mitochondrial DNA Part A, 1-10.
3. Castanet, J., Smirina, E. (1990). Introduction to the skeletochronological method in amphibians and reptiles. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 11, 191-196.
4. Comas, M., Reguera, S., Zamora–Camacho, F. J., Salvadó, H., & Moreno–Rueda, G. (2016). Comparison of the effectiveness of phalanges vs. humeri and femurs to estimate lizard age with skeletochronology. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 39(2), 237-240.
5. Driscoll, D. A. (1999). Skeletochronological assessment of age structure and population stability for two threatened frog species. Australian Journal of Ecology, 24, 182-189.
6. Dubey, S., Sinsch, U., Dehling, M. J., Chevalley, M., Shine, R. (2013). Population demography of an endangered lizard, the Blue Mountains Water Skink. BMC Ecology, 13, 4.
7. Dunham, A. E., Miles, D. B., Reznick, D. N. (1988). Life history patterns in squamate reptiles. Biology of the Reptilia, 16, 441-522. H., Eksilmez, Altunışık, A., Özdemir, N. (2017). The Herpetofauna of Karçal Mountains (Artvin/Turkey). Biodicon, 10(1), 1-5.
8. Fair, J., Paul, E., Jones, J. (2010). Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in Research. Washington, USA: Ornithological Council No: 222.

9. Fattahi, R., Hosseinian Yousefkhani, S. S., Ilgaz, Ç., Kumlutaş, Y., Avci, A., Rastegar-Pouyani E. (2013). Distribution of Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) in Middle East and North Africa. WebPub, 1, 55-57.
10. Fattahi, R., Ficetola, G. F., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Avcı, A., Kumlutaş, Y., Ilgaz, Ç., Hosseinian Yousefkhani, S. S. (2014). Modelling the potential distribution of the Bridled Skink, Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804), in the Middle East. Zoology in the Middle East, 60, 1–9.
11. Gibbons, M. M., McCarthy, T. K. (1983). Age Determination of Frogs and Toads (Amphibia, Anura) from North‐western Europe. Zoologica Scripta, 12(2), 145-151.
12. Güçlü, Ö., Candan, K., Kankılıç, T., Kumlutaş, Y., Durmuş, S. H., Poulakakis, N., Ilgaz, Ç. (2014). Phylogeny of Trachylepis sp. (Reptilia) from Turkey inferred from mtDNA sequences. Mitochondrial DNA, 25(6), 456-463.
13. Hemelaar, A. S. M., Van Gelder, J. J. (1979). Annual growth rings in phalanges of Bufo bufo (Anura, Amphibia) from the Netherlands and their use for age determination. Netherlands Journal of Zoology, 30(1), 129-135.
14. Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Sadek, R. A., Sindaco, R., Venchi, A. (2002). The herpetofauna of Lebanon: new data on distribution. Zoology in the Middle East, 27, 35-46.
15. Karin, B. R., Metallinou, M., Weinell, J. L., Jackman, T. R., Bauer, A. M. (2016). Resolving the higher-order phylogenetic relationships of the circumtropical Mabuya group (Squamata: Scincidae): An out-of-Asia diversification. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 102, 220-232.
16. Kumlutaş, Y., Candan, K., Ilgaz, Ç. (2015). A New Locality Record of Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) (Reptilia: Scincidae) in Northeastern Anatolia, Turkey. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 22 (4), 310-314.
17. Kurnaz, M., Bülbül, U., Eroğlu, A. İ., Uzun, F., Koc, H., Kutrup, B. (2018). Age and growth of the Artvin Lizard, Darevskia derjugini (NIKOLSKY, 1898), in Turkey. Herpetozoa, 30(3-4), 147-158.
18. Nassar, F., Challita, M., Sadek, R., Hraoui-Bloquet, S. (2013). Sexual dimorphism and female reproductive cycle in the scincid lizard Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) in Lebanon (Reptilia: Scincidae). Zoology in the Middle East, 59(4), 297-301.
19. Rastegar-Pouyani N., Fattahi, R. (2015). Sexual dimorphism in Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) (Sauria: Scincidae) in the Zagros Mountains, western Iran. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 39, 59-65.
20. Rohr, D. H. (1997). Demographic and life history variation in two proximate populations of a viviparous skink separated by a steep altitudinal gradient. Journal of Animal Ecology, 66, 567-578.
21. Smith, A. L., Bull, C. M., Driscoll, D. A. (2013). Skeletochronological analysis of age in three 'fire-specialist' lizard species. South Australian Naturalist, 87, 6-17.
22. Sutherland, W. J. (1997). Ecological census techniques. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
23. Üzüm, N., Ilgaz, Ç., Avcı, A., Candan, K., Güler, H., Kumlutaş, Y. (2018). Comparison of the body size and age structure of Lebanon lizard, Phoenicolacerta laevis (Gray, 1838) at different altitudes in Turkey. Vertebrate Zoology, 68(1), 83-90.
24. Wapstra, E., (1998). Life history and reproductive variation in the spotted skink, Niveoscincus ocellatus (Gray 1845). Thesis, Department of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Australia, PhD thesis