European Journal of Taxonomy 88: 1–28 ISSN 2118-9773 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.88 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2014 · Tabatabaei Yazdi F. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Research article urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3605D81E-A754-4526-ABCC-6D14B51F5886 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 YAZDI1, Dominique ADRIAENS2 & Jamshid DARVISH3 1 Faculty of Natural resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, 91735 Mashhad, Iran Email:
[email protected];
[email protected] (corresponding author) 2 Ghent University, Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium 3 Rodentology Research Department and Institute of Applied Zoology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, 91735 Mashhad, Iran 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:0E8C5199-1642-448A-80BB-C342C2DB65E9 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:38C489B9-2059-4633-8E3D-C531FE3EDD8B 3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:9F7A70C9-C460-495A-9258-57CB5E7E9DFA 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.