Biosystematics study of Steppe Field Mouse Apodemus witherbyi (Rodentia: Muridae) from North-West Iran

Apodemus witherbyi is a species with wide distribution and geographic variation in theIranian plateau. This species exists in syntopic, sympatric or parapatric with other fourreported Sylvaemus species from Iran, i.e. A. hyrcanicus, A. uralensis, A. flavicolis and A.avicennicus. In this study ۳۳ specimens from different localities in NW Iran were examinedto study the taxonomic status and the intra-specific variation of the populations. Thestudy was carried out based on the RFLP analysis of cytochrome b (mtDNA), as well asthe morphological and morphometric analyses external, cranial and dental characters. Theresults reveal that all the specimens studied belong to a same species, A. witherbyi.Variation range of the morphometric characters and the frequency of the morphologicaltraits are provided.

Keywords:

wood mouse , Apodemus witherbyi , RFLP , morphology , morphometry