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On the karyology andmorphology of Sciurus anomalus(Mammalia: Rodentia) in TurkeyŞakir Özkurt a , Mustafa Sözen b , Nuri Yiğit b ,Ercüment Çolak b & Reyhan Verimli ba Faculty of Education, Department of Biology, GaziUniversity, Kırşehir, Turkeyb Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, AnkaraUniversity, 06100, Beşevler/Ankara, TurkeyVersion of record first published: 28 Feb 2013.

To cite this article: Şakir Özkurt , Mustafa Sözen , Nuri Yiğit , Ercüment Çolak& Reyhan Verimli (1999): On the karyology and morphology of Sciurus anomalus(Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey, Zoology in the Middle East, 18:1, 9-15

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09397140.1999.10637778

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On the karyology and morphology of Sciurus anomalus (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Turkey

by �akir Özkurt, Mustafa Sözen, Nuri Yi�it, Ercüment Çolak, and Reyhan Verimli

Abstract: Morphological and karyological parameters, including the baculum and phallus, of Sciurus anomalus from Turkey were examined. The diploid number of chromosomes is 2n = 40, the fundamental number is NF = 80, the number of autosomal arms is NFa = 76. The X chromo-some is a large submetacentric, and the Y chromosome is a small submetacentric.

Kurzfassung: In dieser Arbeit wurden von Sciurus anomalus aus der Türkei morphologische und karyologische Parameter einschließlich des Baculums und des Phallus untersucht. Die diploide Zahl der Chromosomen ist 2n = 40, die Grundzahl der Chromosomen ist NF = 80, die Zahl der autosomalen Arme NFa = 76. Das X-Chromosom ist groß submetazentrisch, das Y-Chromosom dagegen klein und submetazentrisch.

Key words: Sciurus anomalus, karyology, baculum, phallus, Turkey, Middle East.

Introduction The Persian Squirrel, Sciurus anomalus Gmelin, 1778, is distributed in Transcaucasia (OGNEV 1940), Anatolia (ELLERMAN & MORRISON-SCOTT 1951, FELTEN et al. 1971), Israel (BODENHEIMER 1935, GAVISH 1993), Iraq (HATT 1959), the Lebanon (LEWIS et al. 1967), and Jordan (HARRISON & BATES 1991). In Turkey, its distribution is confined to the Asian part of the country, whereas in the European part it is replaced by the Red Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris. The karyotype of S. anomalus was described by NADLER & HOFFMANN (1970) from Iran and by LYAPUNOVA & ZOLNEROVSKAYA (1969) from Armenia, but karyological data are not available from Turkey. The aim of this study is to contribute to the karyology and the taxonomy of S. anomalus in Turkey.

Material and methods Three specimens collected at two localities in Turkey were examined. Animals were trapped with live traps, and live specimens were transferred to the laboratory to perform karyological studies. Two specimens (Gönen and Akku�) were karyotyped from the bone marrow of the colchicined animal (FORD & HAMERTON 1956). Twelve slides were prepared from each animal, and 25 metaphase cells, whose chromosomes are well separated, were examined in order to determine the diploid number of chromosomes (2n), the fundamental number (NF), and the number of autosomal arms (NFa) as well as metacentric (m), submetacentric (sm),

Zoology in the Middle East 18, 1999: 9–15. ISSN 0939-7140 © Max Kasparek Verlag, Heidelberg

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Tab. 1. Measurements of external and cranial characters of Sciurus anomalus in Turkey (two specimens from Gönen, one from Akku�) in comparison with material from various Middle East countries (Iraq, Jordan, and the Lebanon; after HARRISON & BATES 1991).

Gönen (1) Gönen (2) Akku� Middle East total length (mm) 381.0 393.5 380.0 345 n = 6 tail length (mm) 146.0 159.5 150.0 139 n = 6 hind foot length (mm) 60.0 61.5 60.0 53 n = 14 ear length (mm) 30 31 30 28.5 n = 10 weight (g) 350 340 310 - occipitonasal length (mm) 50.5 51.3 51.8 49.0 n = 3 condylobasal length (mm) 47.1 47.9 48.3 44.2 n = 3 basal length (mm) 43.6 44.4 45.1 - zygomatic breadth (mm) 31.0 30.6 31.9 28.7 n = 4 mastoid breadth (mm) 15.8 17.3 17.4 - occipital width (mm) 22.2 22.3 22.1 - palatal length (mm) 23.0 23.2 23.2 - frontal length (mm) 21.8 21.8 23.1 - parietal length (mm) 17.2 17.6 17.0 - interorbital constriction (mm) 16.8 17.7 18.2 16.1 n = 4 nasal length (mm) 16.4 16.7 17.2 - diastema length (mm) 12.3 12.2 12.0 - incisiva length (mm) 3.8 4.0 4.0 - upper molar alveolar (mm) 10.5 8.7 10.9 9.3 n = 4 lower molar alveolar (mm) 11.6 11.7 11.7 9.6 n = 4 mandible length (mm) 32.3 32.0 33.4 33.0 n = 4

telocentric (t), acrocentric (a), and sex chromosomes (X and Y). Bacula and phalli were prepared in accordance with LIDICKER (1968). The external, cranial character measurements (mm) and weight (g) were taken from all specimens captured, and specimens were skinned in the standard museum manner.

Results and discussion Habitats: Ç�narl� village of Gönen (Bal�kesir): About 25–30 animals were observed in an oak forest very close to the Ç�narl� village, and two of them were collected. – Akku�: We observed five squirrels in a mixed forest 15 km north of Akku�. This forest consists mainly of beech, hazelnut bushes and pine trees, and there is cultivated land between these forests. One animal was collected. – Çalt�l�çukur village of Akseki (Antalya): We observed the squirrels at two locations near this village. At the first place, 2 km north of the village, about 4–6 animals were observed on a big rock under oaks, pines, a walnut tree, and some small bushes. One animal was collected here. The second place is 2 km south of the village. The area is cultivated and close to a mixed forest which consists mainly of pines, oaks and some small bushes. The cultivated area has mostly walnut, almond, apple, plum, fig, and oak trees.

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Fig. 1. The phallus of Sciurus anomalus. (a) dorsal, (b) ventral, (c), (d) lateral view. Scale: 1 cm.

About 15–20 animals were observed. The animals escaped into the mixed forest closeby when they saw us. – Further observations were made at K�z�lcahamam (Ankara province). Material examined: 2 � from Ç�narl� village near Gönen (Bal�kesir), and 1 � from Akku� (Ordu). Phallus and baculum: The phallus is naked and about 3.0–3.5 cm long, and 3.0–5.0 mm wide. The glans penis is asymmetric. There is a marked notch close to its tip, on the ventral

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Fig. 2. The lateral view of the baculum of Sciurus anomalus. Scale: 1 cm. side of the glans penis. The phallus is basally thick (Fig. 1). In lateral view, the baculum broadens towards its concave base; the tip of baculum is axe-shaped (Fig. 2). A comparison of the baculum of Turkish specimens with that of Caucasian specimens given by OGNEV (1940) does not reveal any differences.

General characteristics: Measurements of external and cranial characters of Sciurus an-omalus are shown in Tab. 1.

The summer fur is similar to that of specimens described by HARRISON & BATES (1991) from Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, but the dorsal colouration of the winter fur is darker than that of the summer fur. Cranial characteristics (Fig. 3) of specimens of S. anomalus in Tur-key are consistent with the skull descriptions by OGNEV (1940) and HARRISON & BATES (1991). All the cranial and body measurements of Turkish specimens given in this study, except for mandible length, are longer than those given by HARRISON & BATES (1991) from Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon (Tab. 1).

Fig. 3. Karyotype of Sciurus anomalus from Gönen, Turkey.

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Fig. 4. The skull of Sciurus anomalus. (a) dorsal, (b) ventral view, (c) mandible. Scale: 2 cm.

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Fig. 5. Sciurus anomalus from the Göksu River Valley, Turkey. Photograph by R. JÜRGENS. Karyology: The diploid number of chromosomes is 2n = 40, the fundamental number is NF = 80, the number of autosomal arms is NFa = 76. All autosomal chromosome pairs are bi-armed. The karyotype has 6 pairs of metacentrics, 6 pairs of submetacentrics and 7 pairs of subtelocentrics. The X chromosome is large and submetacentric, the Y chromosome small and submetacentric (Fig. 4).

The karyotypes of S. anomalus were described by NADLER & HOFFMAN (1970) from Iran, and by LYAPUNOVA & ZOLNEROVSKAYA (1969) from Armenia as having 18 pairs of meta/ submetacentrics and one pair of subtelocentric autosomes; a medium-sized submetacentric X chromosome and a small submetacentric Y chromosome. These karyotypes are similar to those of Turkish specimens, but are different from our findings in chromosome morphology.

According to RENZONI (1967), the karyotype of S. vulgaris living in Europe consists of 2n = 40 chromosomes, NFa = 72, the medium-large metacentric X chromosome, and the small acrocentric-subtelocentric Y chromosome. A similar karyotype is also given by SASAKI et al. (1969) and HSU & BENIRSCKE (1970) from Japan. LYAPUNOVA & ZOLNEROWSKAJA (1969) reported the karyotype of a female from the Novosibirsk area, with the same diploid number but 16 bi-armed and 3 acrocentric pairs (Nfa = 70). This shows that the karyotype of Turkish S. anomalus is different from that of S. vulgaris. Also, S. anomalus and S. vulgaris have a relatively uniform karyotype with the same diploid number, with some morphological differ-ences in chromosomes.

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Mammals Chromosome Newsletter 10: 227, Texas. Authors‘ addresses: Assist. Prof. �akir Özkurt, Faculty of Education, Department of Biology, Gazi University, K�r�ehir, Turkey. – Mustafa Sözen, Assoc. Prof. Nuri Yi�it, Assoc. Prof. Er-cüment Çolak, and Dr. Reyhan Verimli, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ankara University, 06100 Be�evler/Ankara, Turkey.

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