The Taxonomy and Karyology of Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) and Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Rodentia: Muridae) in Turkey

In this study, the Turkish population of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus were studied with regard to external, cranial, phalli, bacula and tooth crown morphology and karyotype. External, internal and karyologic characteristics of R. norvegicus were found to be consistent with previously publishe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: YİĞİT, Nuri, ÇOLAK, Ercüment, SÖZEN, Mustafa
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Turkish
Published: TÜBİTAK 1998
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tbtkzoology/issue/12677/154062
Description
Summary:In this study, the Turkish population of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus were studied with regard to external, cranial, phalli, bacula and tooth crown morphology and karyotype. External, internal and karyologic characteristics of R. norvegicus were found to be consistent with previously published results. Additionally, it was determined that there are striking color variations in the dorsal and ventral fur of R. rattus and that crown morphology is not a definitive characteristic distinguishing these species because of connected lobes in old specimens. According to the karyological studies, the diploid chromosome numbers and fundamental numbers of R. norvegicus and R. rattus were found to be 42, 38 and 64, 60, respectively. In this study, the Turkish population of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus were studied with regard to external, cranial, phalli, bacula and tooth crown morphology and karyotype. External, internal and karyologic characteristics of R. norvegicus were found to be consistent with previously published results. Additionally, it was determined that there are striking color variations in the dorsal and ventral fur of R. rattus and that crown morphology is not a definitive characteristic distinguishing these species because of connected lobes in old specimens. According to the karyological studies, the diploid chromosome numbers and fundamental numbers of R. norvegicus and R. rattus were found to be 42, 38 and 64, 60, respectively.