Age structure and body size of the Strauch's racerunner, Eremias strauchi strauchi Kessler, 1878

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Altunisik A., Gül Ç., Ozdemir N., Tosunoğlu M., Ergul T.

TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, vol.37, no.5, pp.539-543, 2013 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 37 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2013
  • Doi Number: 10.3906/zoo-1212-18
  • Journal Name: TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.539-543
  • Keywords: Lacertidae, Eremias strauchi strauchi, age, sexual dimorphism, Turkey, MONGOLIAN RACERUNNER, SEXUAL-DIMORPHISM, GROWTH, LIZARD, MULTIOCELLATA, POPULATION, LACERTIDAE, ARGUS, SKELETOCHRONOLOGY, REPRODUCTION
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We studied, for the first time, the age structure of Eremias strauchi strauchi (Kessler, 1878) from a sample (18 adults) of a population living in the vicinity of Igdir (eastern Turkey) using the skeletochronological method. The maximum observed longevity was 7 years for males and 5 years for females. The age of males ranged from 4 to 7 years (mean 4.91, n = 12), while that of females ranged from 4 to 5 years (mean 4.66, n = 6). The average snout-vent length (SVL) was 61.10 mm in males and 60.82 mm in females. The differences in mean age and SVL between sexes were not statistically significant. Intersexual differences in body size were male-biased, but this state was not statistically significant. Age and SVL were positively correlated in both sexes.