Abstract
The present study was focused on both the new distributional records and karyological data for Arvicola amphibius from the European part of Turkey. The karyotype of the Eurasian water vole was investigated by examining its metaphase chromosomes. The diploid number of chromosomes (2n), the fundamental number of chromosomal arms (FN) and the number of autosomal arms (FNa) were found to be 36, 64 and 60, respectively, for one female individual from a single locality in the European part of Turkey. It was determined that A. amphibius has 2n = 36 chromosomes, consisting of seven metacentric, three submetacentric, three subtelocentric and four acrocentric chromosome pairs. The X chromosome was a large submetacentric. The present study confirmed the previous results with regard to 2n. However, comparison of our findings with those of other authors indicates that there are karyotypic differences among the chromosomes. These differences were related to the morphology of chromosomes. Additionally, we reported external and skull measurements and new distributional records from six localities for the Turkish water vole. The measurements presented in this study conform to those of samples examined by other authors.
Highlights
The family Cricetidae is one of the largest families within the class Mammalia and consist of six subfamilies: Arvicolinae, Cricetinae, Lophiomyinae, Neotominae, Sigmodontinae and Tylomyina
The genus Arvicola Lacepede, 1799 is a member of the subfamily Arvicolinae and is represented by three species: Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758), which was formerly known as A. terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758), A. sapidus Miller, 1908 and A. scherman (Shaw, 1801)
New distributional records of A. amphibius in Turkey are displayed in Fig. 1: A-) Kırıkköy, Lüleburgaz, Kırklareli (1), B-) Seydiler, Kastamonu (1), C-) Elagöz (Sarımsaklı Deresi), Kayseri (2), D-) Tafdağ, Dumlu, Erzurum (2), E-) Dereiçi, Kars (1) and F-)
Summary
The family Cricetidae is one of the largest families within the class Mammalia and consist of six subfamilies: Arvicolinae, Cricetinae, Lophiomyinae, Neotominae, Sigmodontinae and Tylomyina. Of these subfamilies, Arvicolinae Gray, 1821 is subdivided into 28 genera. Rodents exhibit exceedingly high variations in their chromosome numbers and/or chromosome morphologies. This is a noteworthy peculiarity of the rodents. Among the species of the subfamily Arvicolinae, diploid numbers vary from 17 to 62 (O’Brien et al, 2006). The diploid number of the Eurasian water vole, A. amphibius, is within this range.
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