Taxonomic Status of Water vole, Arvicola amphibius Linneaus, 1758 in Western Anatolia

Abstract

A total of 116 specimens of the genus Arvicola were collected from western part of Turkey Western part of Anatolia and Turkish Thrace and examined based on geometric morphometrics and traditional morphometrics. Morphometrical analyses showed that A. amphibius populations in western part of Turkey are highly differentiated as Anatolian and Thrace populations. Depend on morphometrical differentiation, we conclude that these two populations, classified within two subspecies; Arvicola amphibius persicus and Arvicola amphibius cerncavskii respectively.

Keywords

• arvicola
• geometric morphometrics
• morphology
• thrace
• anatolia
• taxonomy.