The Taxonomy and Ecology of Meles Meles L., 1758 in Western Turkey

Abstract

In this study 21 specimens were collected from various localities to investigate the ecology and taxonomy of Meles meles in Western Turkey. Apart from these 28 badger specimens obtained from various collections were also used in the study. It has been recorded that the badgers live mainly in agricultural areas as well as bushy and forest areas and woodlands. They were found to feed on both animal and herbal food. The age groups of the specimens were determined. The morp- hological features and meauserements of the baculum were given. The taxonomic data of the adult specimens were compared with the badger specimens recorded from the palaearctic region and it was found that the collected specimens represented in nominative form.

Keywords

• Badger,Meles meles,Ecology,Taxonomy,Western Turkey

Batı Türkiye’deki̇ Meles Meles L., 1758 ’in Ekolojisi ve Taksonomisi

Abstract

B u çalışmada Batı Türkiye’deki Meles meles’in ekolojisini ve taksonomisini araştırmak için çeşitli bölgelerden 21 örnek toplanmıştır. Bunun dışında çeşitli koleksiyonlardan sağlanan 28 porsuğun verileri de bu araştırmada kullanılmıştır. Porsukların tarım alanları başta olmak üzere çalılık, ağaçlık ve ormanlık alanlarda yaşadığı kaydedilmiştir. Bitkisel ve hayvansal besinlerle beslendikleri tespit edilmiştir. Örneklerin yaş grubu belirlenmiştir. Bakulumun morfolojik özellikleri ve ölçüleri verilmiştir. Ergin örneklerin taksonomik verileri Palearktik bölgeden kaydedilen porsuk örnekleri ile karşılaştırılmış ve örneklerimizin nominatif formu temsil ettiği tespit edilmiştir

Keywords

• Porsuk, Meles meles, Ekoloji, Taksonomi, Batı Türkiye

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