On the Conspecificity of Allactaga Euphratica Thomas, 1881 and Allactaga Williamsi Thomas, 1897 (Rodentia : Dipodidae) With a Complete List of Subspecies

Molecular phylogeny of the Iranian Plateau five-toed jerboa, Allactaga (Dipodidea: Rodentia), inferred from mtDNA

“…On the basis of the distribution range of the subspecies of Allactaga elater around the north boundaries of Iran (Shenbrot et al 2008 ), the presence of the common small five-toed jerboa, A. e. elater (Lichtenstein 1825); Azerbaidzhan small fivetoed jerboa, A. e. caucasicus Nehring, 1900; Afghan small five-toed jerboa, A. e. indica Gray, 1842; Armenian small five-toed jerboa, A. e. aralychensis Satunin, 1901;andIranian small five-toed jerboa, A. e. turkmeni Goodwin, 1940 (Shenbrot et al 2008 ) is likely in the Iranian Plateau. Atallah and Harrison (1968) recognized Allactaga euphratica williamsi as a subspecies for the Euphrates jerboa, A. euphratica Thomas, 1881, distributed from the west of Iran to the central Elburz areas. Later, the Euphrates jerboa was reported from Ghuchan by Etemad (1978) .…”

Mitochondrial sequences point on a cryptic species in five-toed jerboas, subgenus Paralactaga

“…The prevailing opinion distinguishes between two species, the smaller Allactaga euphratica Thomas, 1881, and the larger Allactaga williamsi Thomas, 1897(Ellerman 1948, Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951, Holden and Musser 2005, Kryštufek and Vohralík 2005. The competing view claims that williamsi and euphratica are merely the extremes of a continuous variation and are, therefore, conspecific (Atallah and Harrison 1968, Corbet 1978, Harrison and Bates 1991, Holden 1993, Shenbrot et al 1995. A meticulous revision of Allactaga in Turkey yielded a set of morphological characteristics between euphratica and williamsi, therefore, providing conclusive evidence that Paralactaga contains two species (Çolak et al 1994).…”

A Study on Taxonomic Status of Allactaga euphratica Thomas, 1881 and Allactaga williamsi Thomas, 1897 (Rodentia : Dipodidae) in Turkey

“…A. euphratica is distributed in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Southern Turkey (Ellerman 1948, Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951, Misonne 1957, Hatt 1959, Misonne 1959, Harrison 1959, Bodenheimer 1958, Lewis et al 1965, Atallah and Harrison 1968, Harrison 1972, Atallah 1978, Corbet 1978, Harrison and Bates 1991. A. williamsi ranges eastwards into Iran and Afganistan, Caucasia and Turkey (Vinogradov and Argyropulo 1941, Ognev 1948, Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951, Misonne 1959, Osborn 1964, Lay 1967.…”

“…Although Atallah and Harrison (1968) suggested that four specimens of Allactaga collected from Palmyra (Syria) seemed to be intermediate between euphratica and williamsi, they included all specimens collected from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Southern Turkey (Urfa and Mardin) to A.e. euphratica and also those collected from western and eastern Turkey to A.e.…”

“…williamsi. Thus, Atallah and Harrison (1968) reduced A. williamsi to subspecific status under A. euphratica, only examining their external and cranial characters. Also, researchers determined that the northern specimens were larger in all cranial and external characters than southern ones and based this increase in size to the north on adaptation to colder environments in accordance with Mammalia, t. 58, n° 4, 1994 : 591 -600. Brought to you by | New York University Bobst Library Technical Se Authenticated Download Date | 6/9/15 3:21 PM Bergman's rule.…”