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New Species of Five-Toed Jerboa (Rodentia: Dipodidae, Allactaginae) from North-East Iran

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New Species of Five-Toed Jerboa (Rodentia: Dipodidae, Allactaginae) from North-East Iran Journal of Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran 19(2): 103-109 (2008) http://jsciences.ut.ac.ir University of Tehran, ISSN 1016-1104 New Species of Five-Toed Jerboa (Rodentia: Dipodidae, Allactaginae) from North-East Iran J. Darvish,1,2,* T. Hajjar,2 M. Moghadam Matin,2 F. Haddad,2 and S. Akbary rad1 1Department of Rodents Research, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran 2Department of Biology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran Abstract The five-toed jerboas of genus Allactaga Cuvier, 1837 have been distributed in arid and semi-desert regions throughout northern Africa, Iranian Plateau and Central Asia to Mongolia. This genus has 12 species of which five have been so far reported from Iran including, Small Five-toed Jerboa (A. elater), William’s Jerboa (A. williamsi), Euphrate’s Jerboa (A. euphratica); Hotson’s Jerboa (A. hotsoni) and Firouz Jerboa (A. firouzi). The Toussi Jerboa (Allactaga toussi sp. Nov.) is reported for the first time from the steppe regions of north east Iran. This new species is different in external, cranial and molars morphological and morphometric characteristics from its parapatric species i.e. Allactaga elater, and other Iranian five-toed jerboas. Multivariate analyses also confirm that Allactaga toussi sp. nov. is significantly distinct from other species. Keywords: Toussi Jerboa; Allactaga toussi sp. nov.; New species; Iran south of Yazd province [1] and its habitat is a gravelly Introduction or stony pen plains in which practically no other rodents The Five toaed jerboa of genus Allactaga including are found [1]. Allactaga firouzi is geographically 12 morphospecies distributed in the arid and semiarid separated from A. hotsoni by a chain of Boanat habitates of north Africa, Iranian plateau, to central Asia Mountains in south east of Esfahan province. Allactaga and Mongolia, five of which have been so far reported elater is distributed in the most parts of desert and semi- from different regions of Iran [1-3]: Allactaga elater desert regions of Iran. A. hotsoni and A. firouzi are both indica Gray, 1824 (Small Five-toed Jerboa); Allactaga in a stasipatric situation with the latter species. A. williamsi Thomas 1907 (Williams jerboa); Allactaga williamsi has been reported from west and north west of euphratica Thomas, 1881 (Euphrates Jerboa); Allactaga Iran. This species is close to A. euphratica [5]. A. hotsoni Thomas, 1920 (Hotson’s Jerboa); Allactaga euphratica has been reported from the west of Iran. firouzi Womochel, 1978 (Firouz Jerboa). The latter was Harrison and Atallah (1968) identified different discovered in south of Shahreza in Esfahan province as subspecies for this species including A. e. williamsi an endemic species [4,5] in a flat plain with a gravel distributed from west Iran to central Elburz areas; A. e. substrate and sparse mountainous steppe vegetation [6]. euphratica distributed in steppe and semi-desert areas A. hotsoni inhabits in the north, center and south east of from Turkey, Iraq, Syria to Jordan, north of Saudi Iranian central desert to Kalmand and Bahadoran in the Arabia and Kuwait [5,7,8]. * Corresponding author, Tel.: +98(511)8762019, Fax: +98(511)8762019, E-mail: [email protected] 103 Vol. 19 No. 2 Spring 2008 Darvish et al. J. Sci. I. R. Iran Eetemad (1975) reported A. euphratica from Systematics Ghuchan which brings some taxonomic problems due to Allactaga toussi sp. nov. geographic distribution of this species. Therefore, we Acronyms: ZMFUM: Zoological Museum of studied the population of North West of Mashhad plain Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. area as the first phase of determination of taxonomic Tousi: refers to the Tous region, a well known status of this genus in the north east of Iran. historical area close to the Mashhad in the NE of Iran near which the new taxon was found. Materials and Methods Holotype: ZMFUM-1398, adult male, Mashhad (Cheshme Gilas, 36°38′N and 59°19′E), Khorasan Forty specimens from 4 species of five-toed jerboa Razavi Province, Iran, 2006, collector: T. Hajjar. genus Allactaga were analyzed. Allactaga toussi sp.nov. Paratypes: ZMFUM-1410, adult male,. ZMFUM- (4 adult males and 4 adult females collected from 1414, adult male, ZMFUM-1415, adult female, Cheshme Gilas in northwest of Mashhad; 36°38′N and ZMFUM-1416, adult female, ZMFUM-1418, adult 59°19′E). Allactaga elater (25 specimens from female, ZMFUM-1425, adult female and ZMFUM- Sabzevar, Jajarm, Tous, Shoorak Maleki, Kashmar and 1449, adult male. Mashhad (Cheshme Gilas 36°38′N Bejestan all in Khorasan Province), Allactaga hotsoni (4 and 59°19′E), collector: T. Hajjar. specimens from Bejestan and Yazd) and Allactaga Measurements (in mm) of holotype: TL: 182; BL: williamsi (3 specimens from Zanjan) (Fig. 1). External, 92; FL: 55; EL: 33; CBL: 27.29; TBL: 7.31; ML: 5.37. cranial and molars characters measured in this study are: body weight (W), head and body length (BL), tail length (TL), hind foot length (FL), ear length (EL), Description condylobasal length (CBL), zygomatic width (ZW), External traits: dorsal coat brown; ventral coloration interorbital width (IW), cranial width (CW), diastema white; ear with dark inner surface and white hairs; outer length (DL), anterior palate fissure length (APFL), surface of ear dark with lighter margins and black hairs; tympanic bulla length (TBL), tympanic bulla width sole and sole margins are completely naked; nails with (TBW), upper cheekteeth length (UChL), lower darker bases compared to other species; subterminal cheekteeth length (LChL), skull height (SH), Mandible portion of tail brush (SPTB) light brown; mean length length (ML), upper M1 length (M1/L), upper M1 width of vibrissa 71 mm (Fig. 2). (M1/W), upper M2 length (M2/L), upper M2 width Cranial traits: nasal bones short, anterior portions (M2/W), upper M3 length (M3/L), upper M3 width does not reach upper incisor sockets; lachrymal bones (M3/W), lower M1 length (M1/L), lower M1 width flat; fissure in posterior portion of palate with blunt (m1/W), lower M2 length (M2/L), lower M2 width angles. Table 1 shows the comparison of means of (M2/W), lower M3 length (M3/L) and lower M3 width external, cranial and molars traits for different five-toed (M3/W). jerboas including A. toussi sp. nov. Cranial characters were measured using a vernier Dental traits: upper incisors are proodont; the first caliper to the nearest 0.05 mm and dental traits using two upper and lower molars are considerably larger than measurescope to the nearest 0.001 mm. Test of the third ones; the crown of molar teeth is flat with low normality of the was performed by the Kruskal-Wallis or medium tubercles and inward distinct rugosity; test and revealed that they all have normal distributions. margins of tubercles and enamels are round; enamel Comparison of means was carried out using multiple thick all around teeth but it is thin in tips of inward and single analysis of variance. A canonical variate angles (Fig. 3). analysis (CVA) was performed to reveal the distinction Male genitalia: Baculum does not exist; glans of of different populations. All the statistical analyses were penis with a pointed tip; longitudinal furrow bifurcate done using SPSS 11.50. Skull and dental traits were toward tip of glans. drawn using a drawing tube and morphologically compared with skull and dental traits of other five-toed jerboa species in northeast Iran. The standard voucher Results of Species Comparison specimens (skins and skulls) were prepared and stored in Zoology Museum of Ferdowsi University of Morphological studies: comparing of A. toussi sp. Mashhad, Iran (ZMFUM). nov. with A. williamsi shows that they are different in Karyotype of Cheshme Gilas specimens was color. In other word, in the new species hairs at bases prepared using bone marrow cells and compared with are dark gray and brown at apexes, whereas in A. reported karyologal characters of other species. williamsi hairs at bases are dark gray and cream at 104 New Species of Five-Toed Jerboa (Rodentia: Dipodidae, Allactaginae) from North-East Iran Figure 1. Map of localities of sampling. apexes. A. williamsi is longer than the new species; the dark hairs in A. hotsoni. Subterminal portion of tail mean of total body length is 334 mm in A. williamsi and brush is light brown in A. toussi sp. nov. and dark brown 278 mm in A. toussi sp nov. Vibrissae length is about 63 in A. hotsoni. In A. hotsoni first and fifth toes are more mm in A. williamsi and 75 mm in the new species. distant than the others compared to A. toussi sp. nov. In Subterminal portion of tail brush is dark brown-black in comparison with A. hotsoni, A. toussi sp. nov. has wider A. williamsi and light brown in A. toussi. The tip of the tail, larger white portion of terminal brush, longer and penis is mostly truncated in A. williamsi, but glans of considerably wider ears. Tympanic bulla in A. toussi sp. penis with a pointed tip in A. toussi sp. nov. nov. is significantly smaller than in A. hotsoni. The Comparing A. toussi sp. nov with A. elater shows morphological differences among species are shown in that inner surface of ear is dark with white hairs in A. Table 2. toussi sp. nov. and grey in A. elater. Outer surface of ear is yellow in A. elater and dark with lighter margins and black hairs in A. toussi sp. nov. Subterminal portion of tail brush is black in A. elater and brown in A. toussi sp. nov. Soles and their margins are naked in the new species but in A. elater with black dense setae in the sole margins. The total size of skull in A.
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