Rodent Fauna of Imbros and Tenedos (Mammalia:Rodentia)

Authors: BEYTULLAH ÖZKAN

Abstract: Imbros and Tenedos,Northern islands of Eagean Sea,were visited as a total of 122 days between 1990-1992 and 449 rodent samples were collected.In Imbros,7 rodent species (Sciurus anomalus,Apodemus flavicollis,Apodemus sylvaticus,Rattus rattus,Rattus norvegicus,Mus macedonicus,Spalax leucodon)belonging to 3 families (Sciuridae,Muridae,Spalacidae)and in Tenedos,4 species (Apodemus hermonensis,Rattus rattus,Mus domesticus,Spalax leucodon)of 2 families (Muridae,Spalacidae) were determined. Using the information about their ecological features,morphological comporision of same aged rodent samples from islands with the Thrace and Northwest Anatolia was carried out.As a result of the comparision,it was found that Sciurus of Imbros, Apodemus and Spalax samples of Tenedos showed similarity to the samples from Northwest Anatolia,whereas Apodemus and Spalax samples from Imbros showed similarity to the samples from Turkish Thrace.However,Rattus and Mus samples from both islands showed similarity to all samples from both Turkish Thrace and Northwestern Anatolia. In this region,because of the difficulities arising from determining the species of Apodemus using morphological index,a method of foreman incisiv/maxilla teeth length (F1/1^1 M^ 3 )separation diagram were used.Apodemus populations from Imbros,Tenedos, Europe and Northwestern Anatolia were analysed for discriminant function in order to clear their relations and to prove the acceptability of previously used species determination method.

Keywords: Mammalia,Rodentia,Turkey,Islands,Imbros,Tenedos

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