Age determination of Eastern Anatolian populations of Darevskia raddei (Boettger, 1892) (Squamata: Lacertidae) and examination of the populations in terms of morphology and morphometric characteristics

Objective: It is primarly aimed to calculate age and reveal demographic structure in the populations, those have distribution in Türkiye, of Darevskia raddei, that belongs to Lacertidae family. Additionally, revealing diffrences between the groups was aimed too by delivering morphological feautures of the animals. Material and Methods: 165 specimens of Darevskia raddei, captured from 5 different locations, that have distribution in the East Anatolia were used. Age structure, and morphological characteristic and differences between populations were revealed by using skeletochronology and by using morphological measurements and geometric morphometrics respectively. Results: Masseteric plate was present in all members of Digor population while it was either not present or barely seen in others. Body size differences between sexes were not significant in the populations. Females of Digor were bigger than of Muradiye. Males of Güzelsu are bigger than of Özalp while males of Saray were bigger than of Muradiye. Only Güzelsu popülation was significantly bigger than Muradiye in population level. Digor population was found morphologically separated than the rest. Age at maturity was found to be 4 years. Females are older than males in Digor population while males are older than females in Güzelsu population. Digor was older than Muradiye and Saray in females and, Güzelsu was older than Digor, Özalp and Saray while Saray is older than Özalp in males. In populations without sex divisions, Dİgor was found older than Özalp and Saray and, Muradiye and Güzelse were older than Özalp. Conclusion: With this study, the age of Darevskia raddei was revealed, and similarities and differences of 5 populations were documented.