Age structure of a population of Chalcides ocellatus (Forskål, 1775) (Sauria: Scincidae) in Mediterranean Anatolia

Abstract

We studied the age structure of a population of the Ocellated Skink, Chalcides ocellatus in Mediterranean Turkey using the skeletochronological method. We examined the cross sections of femoral diaphyseal of a total of 106 museum specimens including 53 adult females and 42 adult males. The snout-vent length was significantly correlated with age. The mean age was 6.0 years (3–10 year) for males and 5.8 years for females, but the difference was statistically not significant. Sexual maturity is reached after their third hibernation period. The lifespan was significantly shorter in southwestern Anatolia than in southern Anatolia (mean age 5.43 years vs. 6.50 years for both sexes combined; P<0.004). According to von Bertalanffy growth curves, the growth rates were lower in southwestern Anatolia than in southern Anatolia than.