Geographic variation of skull traits in the Libyan jird, <i>Meriones libycus</i> (Rodentia: Gerbillinae), over its entire distribution area

Pavlinov, I.Ya.; Lissovsky, A.A.; Obolenskaya, E.V.

Russian Journal of Theriology. Main page

Geographic variation of skull traits in the Libyan jird, Meriones libycus (Rodentia: Gerbillinae), over its entire distribution area
Pavlinov I.Ya., Lissovsky A.A., Obolenskaya E.V.
P. 19-26
Geographic variation of 11 measurable cranial traits was studied on a set of 37 local samples of the Libyan jird, Meriones libycus, over its entire distribution area. MANOVA, cluster, canonical discriminant, and regression analyses were applied to consider both scalar and vector parameters of variation. It is shown that the Libyan jird is divided craniometrically into tree principal clusters, African, SW–N Caspian, and “main Asian” ones, which differ basically by auditory bulla size (the least in SW–N Caspian cluster) and incisive foramen length (the least in some subsamples of “main Asian” cluster). Auditory bulla size is shown to be negatively, though not very strongly, correlated with the aridity index. However, the SW–N Caspian cluster is characterized by much smaller bulla than it is predicted by the regression with climatic parameter. This might be explained by some historical causes according to which a small size of auditory bulla in the jirds of that cluster reflects retention of the ancestral condition. It is suggested that subspecies M. l. caucasius from Azerbaijan is most conspicuously differentiated by cranial morphology, but its taxonomic relation to M. l. eversmanni from N Caspian region needs further clarification. The method of “vector” analysis of geographic trends within large portions of the areas of widely distributed species, such as M. libycus, seems to be useful in providing additional important information concerning biological specificity of respective territorial groupings.

DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.9.1.03

References

Alexander R. 1970. [Biomechanics]. Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Mir. 339 p. [in Russian]

Bock W.J. & Wahlert G. 1965. Adaptation and the form-function complex // Evolution. Vol.19. No.2. P.269-299.

Borisov A.A. 1977. [USSR. Climate] // Prokhorov A.M. (ed.) [Great Soviet Encyclopedia]. Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Sovetskaya Encyclopedia. Vol.24. Part 2. P.36-42. [in Russian]

Burnaby T.P. 1966. Growth-invariant discriminant functions and generalized distances // Biometrics. Vol.22. P.96-110.

Gromov I.M., Gureev A.A., Novikov G.A. et al. 1961. [Mammals of the Fauna of USSR]. Part 1. Moskva-Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR. 638 p. [in Russian]

Heptner W.G. 1940. [The gerbilline fauna of Iran, with zoogeographic peculiarities of Anatolia-Iran-Afghan regions] // Novye Memuary MOIP. Vol.20. P.1-71. [In Russian]

Lay D.M. 1967. A study of the mammals of Iran // Fieldiana Zoology. Vol.54. P. 3-282.

Lissovsky A.A. & Pavlinov I.Ya. 2008. [Toward exploration of morphological disparity of measurable traits of mammalian skull. 2. Scalar and vector parameters of the forms of group variation] // Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii. Vol.69. No.6. P.344-354 [in Russian, with English summary].

Marcus L.F. 1993. Some aspects of multivariate statistics for morphometrics // Marcus L.F., Bello E. & Garcнa-Valdecasas A. (eds.). Contributions to Morphometrics. Madrid: C.S.I.C. P.95-130.

Obolenskii S.I. 1927. [Rodents of the right bank of Volga River] // Materiali k poznaniyu fauni Nizhnego Povolzhya. No.1. P.1-26 [in Russian].

Pavlinov I.Ya. 1979. [Morphology and taxonomic significance of the middle ear ossicles in the jirds of the genus Meriones (Rodentia: Cricetidae)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.58. No.11. P.1703-1712 [in Russian, with English summary].

Pavlinov I.Ya. 1979. [On morphology of dental crown of higher gerbillines] // Vestnik zoologii. No.3. P.33-36 [in Russian].

Pavlinov I.Ya. 1982. [Nomenclature and species names in the jirds of the group libycus-erythrourus-shawi-caudatus (Rodentia: Gerbillinae: Merions)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.61. No.11. P.1766-1768 [in Russian, with English summary].

Pavlinov I.Ya. 2008. [Morphological disparity: General conceptions and basic characteristics] // Zoologicheskie Issledovaniya. Sbornik trudov Zoologicheskogo muzeya MGU. Vol.49. P. 343-388 [in Russian, with English summary].

Pavlinov I.Ya., Dubrovsky Yu.A., Rossolimo O.L. & Potapova E.G. 1990. [Gerbillines of the World Fauna]. Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Nauka. 308 p. [in Russian]

Ranck G.L. 1968. The rodents of Libya: Taxonomy, ecology and zoogeographical relationships // Bulletin of U.S. National Museum of Natural History. No.275. P.1-264.

Setzer H.W. 1961. The jirds (Mammalia, Rodentia) of Egypt // Journal of Egyptian Public Health Association. Vol.36. No.1. P.81-92.

StatSoft Inc. 2007. STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 8.0. ww.statsoft.com.

Tropin N.N. 1976. [Changes in the Late Quaternary mammal complexes and rodent faunas of the southern part of Volga-Ural interfluve] // Trudy Zoologicheskogo instituta AN SSSR. Vol.66. P.125-131 [in Russian].

Webster D.B. & Webster M. 1975. Auditory systems of Heteromyidae: functional morphology and evolution of the middle ear // Journal of Morphology. Vol.146. No.2. P.343-376.

Download PDF