MULTIVARIATE MORPHOMETRICS OF APODEMUS MYSTACINUS IN THE NEAR EAST AND ITS DIVERGENCE FROM EUROPEAN A. M. EPIMELAS (MAMMALIA: RODENTIA)

Abstract

Morphometric variation in Apodemus mystacinus populations from Syria and Jordan was studied and compared with those in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslavia. Altogether, 270 specimens of A. mystacinus were examined by multivariate procedures based on molar, skull, and body measurements. The previously reported distinctness of the European subspecies (species) epimelas and Asian mystacinus was confirmed. Asian populations are fairly homogenous. The populations from Syria and Jordan, as well as other material examined from Turkey, corresponded well with the population of the Middle Taurus Mts., Turkey (terra typica of A. m. mystacinus). The only exception was the case of a slightly different population from the Al-Duruz Mts. (S Syria). The validity of sspp. euxinus (E Pontic Mts.) and pohlei (N. Syria) was not supported by our data.