Morphological and Karyological Pecularities of the Species Ellobius lutescens Thomas, 1897 (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Turkey

Authors: Yüksel COŞKUN

Abstract: Six animals of the species Ellobius lutescens Thomas, 1897 were studied morphologically and with conventional and G-chromosome banding techniques. The animals were collected from Ovapİnar, 50 km north of Van-Turkey. Skins and skulls have been deposited at the Dicle University, Science and Art Faculty, Biology Department. Morphological characters, measurements and karyological pecularities were compared with previously published accounts. The diploid number was found to be 2n=17. The karyotype consisted of 7 pairs submeta/subtelosentric and one pair of metasentric chromosomes. A single submetasentric X chromosome was also found. Results show that the samples are not Ellobius fuscocapillus, but instead belong to Ellobius lutescens Thomas 1897.

Keywords: Rodentia, Cricetidae, Ellobius Iutescens, Karyotype, Turkey.