TurkJZool 27(2003)81-87 ©TÜB‹TAK ResearchArticle ObservationsontheMoleVole, Ellobiuslutescens Thomas1897, (Mammalia:Rodentia)inTurkey YükselCOfiKUN,ServetULUTÜRK DicleUniversity,FacultyofArtandSciences,BiologyDepartment,21280Diyarbak›r-TURKEY Received:19.09.2002 Abstract: Ellobiuslutescens istheonlyspeciesofthegenus Ellobius livingineasternAnatolia.Theyarehighlyadaptedto undergroundlife.Thereisnoknowledgeabouttheecologicalpeculiarities,populationstructuresordetailedrangeofthisspe ciesin Turkey.Datawererecordedduringfieldstudiesandlaboratoryobservationsof42specimenscollectedfrom12differentlocalit ies. Thedistributionareais8kmnorthofMuradiyeinthenorth,theeasternborderbeyondtheTurkishborder,32kmnorthofÇatak inthesouth,5-6kmeastofUysalinthewest,andYüksekovainthesoutheast,theeasternborderbeyondtheTurkishborder.Their tunnelsystemisverycomplexandthereisnotypicalgallerysystem.Theverticalandhorizontaldiametersoftheirtunnelsar e5-8 and6-9cm,respectively.Theyliveasafamilygroup.Thehomerangesizeofafamilyisabout12x9m,butchangesaccording to theabundanceoffood.Theyeatallkindsofvegetation.Anindividualconsumes79.66goffoodaday.Thereisalinearrelationship betweentheweightoftheanimalandconsumedfood(r=0.63).Theygivebirthatleasttwiceayearhaving2-4pups.Thisspecies isnotendangeredinTurkey. KeyWords: Rodentia,Ellobiuslutescens,ecology,distribution,Turkey TürkiyeEllobiuslutescens Thomas1897,(Mammalia:Rodentia)TürüÜzerineGözlemler Özet: Do¤uAnadolu’da Ellobius cinsininyaln›zca Ellobiuslutescens türüyaflar.Bunlarönemliderecedeyeralt›yaflam›nauyum sa¤lam›fllard›r.Türkiye’dekibutürünekolojiközellikleri,populasyonyap›s›veyaayr›nt›l›da¤›l›fl›hakk›ndabilgiyoktur.Bi lgiler,12 farkl›lokalitedentoplanan42örneküzerindeyap›lanaraziçal›flmalar›velaboratuvargözlemlerindeneldeedildi.Da¤›l›malan ›; kuzeydeMuradiye’nin8kmkuzeyi,do¤us›n›r›Türkiye’nind›fl›ndad›r.GüneydeÇatak’›n32kmkuzeyi,bat›daUysal’›n5-6km do¤usuvegüneydo¤udaYüksekova’d›r.Bunlar›ntünelsistemleriçokkarmafl›kt›rvetipikbirgalerisistemibulunmaz.Tünellerin dikeyveyatayçap›s›ras›yla5-8ve6-9cm’dir.Ailegruplar›halindeyaflarlar.Yaflamalanlar›yaklafl›k12x9’dir,ancakbu besin bollu¤unaba¤l›olarakde¤iflir.Herçeflitbitkiselbesinleriyerler.Birbireygünde79.66grbesintüketir.Hayvan›na¤›rl›¤›iletüketti¤i besinmiktar›aras›ndado¤rusalbiriliflkivard›r(r=0.63).Y›ldaenazikidefa,2-4yavrudo¤ururlar.Türkiye’debutürünneslitehlike alt›ndade¤ildir. AnahtarSözcükler: Rodentia,Ellobiuslutescens,ekoloji,da¤›l›fl,Türkiye Introduction speciesisendemicforKyrgyzstan)and E.lutescens in Molevoles,genus Ellobius,arePalearcticregion Iran,Armenia,AzerbaijanandAnatolia(1-8,11).Ellobius animalsdistributedfromEastAnatoliatoMongolia(1-8). lutescens reachesthewesternlimitofitsdistributionarea GromovandBaranova(9)statedthatthegenus Ellobius fromVan-HakkariprovinceinEastAnatolia(12),andwas hasexistedsincethemid-Pleistocene.Pleistoceneremains firstdescribedbyThomasin1897,basedonsix of Ellobius spp.werefoundfromKonya-Akflehir- specimenscollectedfromVan-Erçek(13)(Fig.1). DursunluinTurkey(10). Thetaxonomical,karyological,morphologicaland Thespecies E.fuscocapillus,E.lutescens,E.talpinus, somebiologicalpeculiaritieswerestudiedbyCoflkun E.tancrei andE.alaicus existatthepresenttime(11). (12,14,15)andCoflkunandUlutürk(16). Thesespeciesexhibitonallopatricdistribution. AlthoughthepresenceofthisspeciesisknowninEast E.fuscocapillus isdistributedinIran,Afghanistanand Anatolia,itsexactdistributionareaandecological Pakistan;E.talpinus inUkraine,Kazakhstan,Turkmenia, peculiaritieshavenotyetbeendocumentedindetail.The UzbekistanandAfghanistan;E.tancrei isinKyrgyzystan, aimofthisstudywasthereforetodeterminethe TajikistanandMongolia; E.alaicus isinKyrgyzystan(this distributionboundariesandsomeecologicalpeculiarities, 81 ObservationsontheMoleVole, Ellobiuslutescens Thomas1897,(Mammalia:Rodentia)inTurkey ResultsandDiscussion Ellobiuslutescens ,livinginfamilygroups,were completelyadaptedtoundergroundlifeandfeedingon theroots,tubers,bulbsandrhizomesofplants.This speciesisdistrubutedinonlyVanandHakkariprovinces inTurkey.Accordingtotheresultsofourstudiesthe detaileddistributionregionisasfollows. Figure1. Ellobiuslutescens. Aswedidnothavetheopportunitytostudyin fiemdinli,thesouthernborderisassignedtoYüksekova. Itisabsentinthefiırnak,Uludere,ÇukurcaandHakkari suchasreproduction,feedingandpopulationstructure, regions. ofEllobiuslutescensinTurkey. ThesouthwesternborderisnorthofKayabo¤az village(32kmfromÇatak),then themountainousareas MaterialsandMethods beginnearthevillagesofYenimahalleandElmacı,and Thisstudywasconductedon42specimens(18 therearenoEllobius moundsinthisregion (Fig.3A). females,24males)collectedfrom12differentlocalities Although Talpa (mole)and Spalax (molerat) (Figure2).Trapping Ellobius involvestheopeningofa populationsliveparapatricallybetweenTatvanand burrowsystemandcatchingtheanimalwithahoewhen KuskunkıranPass,thereisonly Spalax population itcomestoplugtheopening.Ecologicalpeculiaritieswere betweenKuskunkıranPassandYoldöndüvillage.Thereis observedbothinthefieldandinthelaboratory.The agapfromYoldöndütoUysal.Thenthemoundsofmole presentaccountoffersinformationbasedprimarilyon volesbegin atGüzelkonak(5-6kmeastofUysal),andare fieldobservationscarriedoutduring1999-2001. especiallyabundantin beetfields(Fig.3B). SpecimensaredepositedattheBiologyDepartment, Thenorthernborderof E.lutescens isGönderme ScienceandArtFaculty,DicleUniversity(Diyarbakır). village,located8kmnorthofMuradiye.Then Spalax Figure2. Distributionareaof Ellobius Çald›ran 44E 10 N lutescens inTurkey.1.Van- Ovapınar(50kmnorthofVan, Erçifl Muradiye 9 Coflkun1997’smaterial)6(4 ¶, 1 Saray 2);2.Hakkari-Yüksekova-Suüstü Ovap›nar village-BüyükçiftlikBridge Erçek 8 province,2(1 ¶,1 ); 3.Hakkari- Yüksekova-Hanemusavillage(1 ); VanLake 4.Van-Baflkale(1 );5.1km VAN Albayrak southofVan-Gürpınar-Köprüler 6 Gürp›nar Baflkale village,5(2 ¶,3); 6.Van-Gevafl- 5 7 IRAN Cafer’splace,6(3 ¶,3); 7. 2km Borders 11 4 eastofVan-Gevafl-Güzelkonak village,4(2¶,2?); 8.Van-Saray4 Collection 12 (2¶,2 ); 9.3kmsouthofVan- localities 3 Muradiye-Balıklıvillage,6(3¶,3); 2 10.2kmsouthofVan-Muradiye- Unstudied Çatak Yüksekova Göndermevillage,4(1 ¶,3?); 11. areas HAKKAR‹ 3kmwestofVan-Çatak-Köklü village,(1 );12.8kmnorthof Çukurca Van-Çatak-Kayabo¤azvillage,(2 ) fiIRNAK (numbersafterthelocalitiesare samplesize) (Erçekisthetype locality). IRAQ Scale:1/4.000.000 SYRIA 82 Y.COfiKUN,S.ULUTÜRK VAN Do¤ubeyaz›t Spalax Bitlis Gürp›nar- VAN Spalax Hakkari Ayranc› ÇALDIRAN Köklüvillage VANLAKE village 13km Elloblus Ellobius K›z›ltaflvillage Cafer’splace Northernborder Mountainousarea Kuskunk›ranPass Gürp›nar-Hakkari Ellobius Tatvan Spalax Ellobius Gevafl Köprülü Göndermevillage Southwestern Spalax Village border Talpa Güzelkonak Kayabo¤azvillage Yoldöndü village Ellobius Ellobius village 32km Mountainousarea Westernborder MURAD‹YE B Bal›kl›village Ellobius N ÇATAK N Ercifl VANLAKE C A PERVAR‹ Figure3. Thedetaileddistributionbordersof E.lutescens inTurkey.A.southwestern,B.western,C.northernborders. moundsbeginatthevillageofAyrancı,5kmfrom maintunnelsystemisconnectedtofeedingtunnels.This Çaldıran,butbothofthemareabsentbetweenthe speciesmakesitsnestclosetothesurface(Fig.5B),and villagesofGöndermeandAyrancı(Fig.3C). therearemanytunnelsconnectedtoit.Therearesoft ThespecimenswerecollectedfromVan-Saray,the materials(nylon,piecesofcloth,drygrassetc.)andfood mosteasterlypartofTurkey,andmounds wereobserved inthenest.Thefoodstoredinexpandedroomsnearthe inAlbayrak(Fig.2).AccordingtoOgnev(1)thisspecies nestandthereisnootherfoodstorageroom.However, isdistributedinIran,AzerbaijanandArmenia.Therefore, thegallerysystemsofeachfamilydifferintermsofsoil theeasternborderofthisspeciesisbeyondtheTurkish structureandfood;itisimpossibletodetermineatypical border. gallerysystem. Individualsofthisspeciesaredistributedinallsoil Thesizeofhomerangeofeachfamilyisabout12m typeswiththeexceptionofmovingsand.Themolevole x9m.Itssizechangeswiththeamountoffood.Thirty- preparesitsundergroundtunnelsbyscratchingthesoil sixfamilysystemswerecountedinthearea,whichwas 2 withitsincisorsandpushingtheloosenedsoilbehindits 150mx80m(ca.12,000m ).Itwasobservedthat 2 bodywithitsforeandhindlimbs.Thenitturnsand therewereeightfamilysystemsina1000m area.Each transportstheexcavatedsoilwithitsheadandbreast,so burrowsystemcontainsonemale,onefemaleandatleast thatthemoundsoccuronsurface(Fig.4). onepup.Thepopulationinthisareahasabout24 individuals.Thenumberofthepupsisgenerally1-2,but Thesemoundsmaybeconfusedwiththoseof Talpa itmaybemore.Inthiscaseitisestimatedthatthere andSpalax.Thereare22-35mounds5mx3.6minarea wouldbe24,000individualsina1km 2 area.The (Fig.4).Thetopdiameterofthesemoundsis8-21cm, researchareaismountainousandthisspecieslivesatthe thebasediameteris24-50cm,andtheheightis9-14 bottomofthemountains,andbecauseofthisthedensity cm.Thedistancebetweenmoundsvariesfrom4to70 ofthepopulationisdecreased. cm(Fig5A).Thediameterofthetunnelsisalmost constant.Thetunnelsarealittlewiderthantheoccupant Wedeterminedthatthisspeciesisnotendangered, animal.Theverticalandhorizontaldiametersofthe andthereforedoesnotneedanyprotectionatpresent. tunnelsare5-8and 6-9cm,respectively(Fig.5A). Thespecimens,whichwerekeptinthelaboratoryfor Thebasedepthofthetunnelsfromthesurfaceis16- morethanoneyear,didnothibernateoraestivate.When 48cm(average27±5.8cm).Thetunnelsinwhichthe thetemperatureofthelaboratoryincreases,theanimals animalsheltersinemergenciesdescendtoadepthof54- lieontheirbacksandtrytocooldownbyopeningtheir 90cmfromthesurfaceatanangleof45º.Thedepthof foreandhindlimbslaterally.Incoldconditionsthey thetunnelsisrelatedtothelengthofplantroots.The huddletogetherinthenest.