Cranial phenotypic variation in Meriones crassus and M. libycus (Rodentia, Gerbillinae), and a morphological divergence in M. crassus from the Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia (Western Zagros Mountains)

  • Fatemeh Tabatabaei Yazdi Faculty of Natural resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, 91735 Mashhad
  • Dominique Adriaens Ghent University, Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent
  • Jamshid Darvish Rodentology Research Department and Institute of Applied Zoology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, 91735 Mashhad
Keywords: geometric morphometrics, morphology, Middle East, Muridae, skull shape

Abstract

Jirds (genus Meriones) are a diverse group of rodents, with a wide distribution range in Iran. Sundevall’s jird (Meriones crassus Sundevall, 1842) is one such species that shows a disjunct distribution, found on the Iranian Plateau and Western Zagros Mountains. Morphological differences observed between these two populations, however, lack quantitative support. Morphological differences between geographical populations of Meriones crassus were analysed and compared with those of the sympatric M. libycus. Similarities in the cranial morphology of these species were found, e.g. in a relatively large and inflated bulla. A two-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis was done on the skull of 275 M. crassus and 220 M. libycus from more than 70 different localities in their distribution range. Results confirm cranial differences between specimens of M. crassus from the Western Zagros and those from Africa and Arabia, mainly at the level of the relative size of the tympanic bulla, that were significantly correlated with the annual rainfall and elevation. Moreover, the study supports the hypothesis that the Western Zagros specimens are both a geographically and phenotypically distinct group compared to the other Iranian M. crassus specimens, suggesting that the former might be a distinct species.

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Published
2014-06-25
How to Cite
Tabatabaei Yazdi, F., Adriaens, D., & Darvish, J. (2014). Cranial phenotypic variation in Meriones crassus and M. libycus (Rodentia, Gerbillinae), and a morphological divergence in M. crassus from the Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia (Western Zagros Mountains). European Journal of Taxonomy, (88). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.88