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Data on population size, adult sex ratio, body size and mass are provided for a population of the turtle Emys orbicularis near Pazaragaç (Afyonkarahisar/Turkey). Using the mark-recapture method (triple catch), a population size of 664 turtles was estimated (95% confidence interval, range 332-996), corresponding to a density of 83 turtles per hectare (range 41.5-124.5). The adult sex-ratio was significantly skewed in favor of males (2.02 males: 1 female; P < 0.001). Almost all recorded specimens were adult (98.1%). Mean straight carapace length (SCL) and body mass (BM) of adult turtles were: SCL = 128.65 mm, BM = 345 g for males (n = 168) and SCL = 135.37 mm, BM = 463 g for females (n = 83). © 2007 Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences., This study constitutes part of a project [Project No: TBAG-2402 (103T189)] supported by TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey). We are indebted to TÜBİTAK for financial support.

During the present study, we obtained data via skeletochronology on the age structure of Levant water frog, Pelophylax bedriagae, in Lake suluklu (Manisa, Turkey). The mean snout-vent length was 56.1 mm (SD = 7.7) for males and 64.5 mm (SD = 14.8) for females. While both sexes reached sexual maturity following their second hibernation, the modal age was two years for males and three years for females. The average age of the adult population was 2.50 years (SD = 0.65, range= 2-4) in males and 2.95 years (SD = 0.99, range = 2-5) in females. furthermore, the threatening factors of Lake suluklu population were outlined.

The amphibian and reptile specimens, crushed due to vehicle traffic, were recorded during herpetological trips to various regions of Anatolia between 2005 and 2009. In total, 183 individuals were detected, representing 28 species from 4 amphibian [Salamandridae (1), Ranidae (3), Bufonidae (2), and Hylidae (2)], 3 turtle [Testudinidae (1), Emydidae (1), and Geoemydidae (2)], 3 lizard [Agamidae (1), Anguidae (2), and Lacertidae (5)] and 2 snake [Colubridae (6) and Viperidae (2)] families. The measures required for decreasing herpetofaunal mortalities due to traffic are emphasized.

Our main objective was to establish the population size, density, body size, and sex ratio of a local Emys orbicularis population. We examined the population structure of E. orbicularis in Lake Yayla, Buldan (Denizli), Turkey, using capture-recapture methods. The population consisted of 54% males, 42% females, and 4% juveniles. The adult sex ratio was significantly skewed in favor of males. Using the Jolly program, the population size was estimated at 1,462 (95% CI = 1,161–1,763), corresponding to a density of 81 turtles per hectare of optimal habitat. Females were larger than males. In carapace length, the Lake Yayla population resembles other small-sized populations inhabiting the southern parts of the species' range. The conservation status of the Turkish populations and their main threats are also discussed.

Bu çalışmada, İzmir ve Manisa illerinde yapılan arazi çalışmaları esnasında yakalanan 14 (4 dd, 499 ve 6juv.) Eirenis modestus örneğinin sindirim sistemi içeriği incelenmiş, toplam 44 av tespit edilmiştir. Sindirim sistemi içeriğine göre, türün besinini insecta (% 75), Chilopoda (% 11) ve Reptilia (% 2) sınıflarına ait avlar oluşturmaktadır ve geriye kalan avlar tanımlanamamıştır. Bulunma oranı bakımından Coleoptera (% 32) ve Orthoptera (% 21); görülme sıklığı bakımından Coleoptera (% 36), Orthoptera (% 36) ve Scolopendromorpha (% 29); hacim bakımından Scolopendromorpha (% 72) takımları en yüksek orana sahip av gruplarıdır. Bu sonuçlara göre, Eirenis modestus büyük oranda taş altı eklembacaklı faunası (% 86) ile beslenmektedir., The stomach contents of 14 (4 do", 499 and 6 juveniles) Eirenis rnodestus specimens captured during various field studies in İzmir and Manisa provinces were examined, and a total of 44 prey items were found. An analysis of the stomach contents revealed that prey belonging to the classes Insecta (75%), Chilopoda (11%), and Reptilia (2%) constituted the diet of the species; the remaining prey could not be identified. The most frequently consumed prey were the orders Coleoptera (32%) and Orthoptera (21%) by number; Coleoptera (36%), Orthoptera (36%), and Scolopendromorpha (29%) by frequency; and Scolopendromorpha (72%) by volume. Based on these results, Eirenis modestus feeds predominantly on arthropods found under stones (86%).

Kıbrıs evcil keçi (Capra hircus) işkembesinde yaşayan Ophryoscolex purkynjei'ye dahil dört forma [O. p. f. purkynjei, O. p. f. Bifidobicinctus ve O. p. f. bicoronatus, O. p. f. tricoronatus] diagnostik olan morfometrik özellikleri açısından karşılaştırılmıştır. Ayrıca farklı konaklarda aynı formalar arasında meydana gelen anlamlı morfometrik varyasyonlar istatistiki analizler ile gösterilmiştir . Tespit edilen varyasonların, konak hayvanların fizyolojilerindeki bireysel farklılıklardan (diğer siliyat faunası, bakteri populasyonu, türler arası antogonizm vs) kaynaklanabileceği sonucuna varılmıştır, The species Ophryoscolex purkynjei and its four formae [O. p. f. purkynjei, O. p. f. bifidobicinctus, O. p. f. bicoronatus and O. p. f. tricoronatus] from the Cypriot domestic goats (Capra hircus) have been investigated from the viewpoint of the diagnostic mor-phometrical characteristics. Moreover, it was demonstrated that there was significant morphometrical variations among the same formae in different host animals. As the result of our investigation, it has been suggested that all of the morphometrical variations determined may originate from the individual physiological differences of the host animals (e.g. the other ciliate fauna, bacterial population, inter-specific antagonism etc.).

Orta Anadolu’da Rana ridibunda caralitana Arıkan, 1988 için yeni bir lokalite. Bu çalışmada, Bor (Niğde)’dan toplanan 18 (10 ??, 8 ??) ergin ova kurbağası örneği, başta renk-desen olmak üzere yapılan morfolojik analiz sonucunda incelenmiştir. İncelenen örneklerin caralitana formuna ait olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Böylece caralitana’nın dağılış areali genişletilmiştir., In this study, a total of 18 (10 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀) adult marsh frog specimens collected from Bor (Niğde) have been examinedthrough the morphological analysis, primarily on their coloration and pattern characteristics. It is concluded that the examined specimens fall into caralitana category. Thus, the distrubution area of caralitana has been extended.

The European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758), is one of the world's most widely distributed chelonian species. We investigated its mitochondrial phylogeography and demography using ∼1300cyt b sequences from the entire range, with a focus on the eastern part, in particular on Turkey, where the species currently suffers massive losses. Coloration data from >1450 turtles were compared with mtDNA differentiation to assess the validity of the currently accepted subspecies from Turkey, the Black Sea Region, the Transcaucasus, and Iran. Our study region harbors considerable part of the mtDNA diversity of Emys, including a newly discovered lineage and 16 new haplotypes. In this area corresponding to approximately one-third of the entire distribution range, six out of the ten mitochondrial lineages and about half of all 72 haplotypes occur. Two mitochondrial lineages (VIII, X) are confined to small ranges along the southern coast of Turkey, another lineage (I) occupies the remainder of Turkey, the entire Black Sea Region, and the north-eastern part of the species’ range. In the south-western corner of the Black Sea and in the Aegean Region, two lineages (II, IV) occur that have their main distribution areas farther west. In the Transcaucasus and northern Iran, another endemic lineage (VII) is found. Lineage I is the largest and most diverse of all lineages and has its greatest diversity in Anatolia. Phylogeographic and demographic data suggest Anatolia as an ancient glacial refuge for turtles harboring mitochondrial lineages I, VIII and X, and that Anatolia and the Black Sea coasts constitute a hotspot for a younger burst of diversification within lineage I. These two regions correspond to the glacial refuge from which lineage I turtles recolonized more northerly parts of the range in the Holocene; lineage II represents an off-shoot of lineage I that became isolated in a westward-located refuge in the south-eastern Balkans during a previous Pleistocene glacial. Our data on coloration indicate that such characters have only limited value for delineating evolutionarily significant units. We propose to reduce the number of subspecies using mtDNA lineages as arbiter, and to recognize three subspecies as valid in Turkey, the Black Sea Region, the Transcaucasus and Iran: Emys orbicularis orbicularis (mtDNA lineage I); E. o. eiselti Fritz et al., 1998 (X); and E. o. persica Eichwald, 1831 (VII). However, the southern Turkish lineage VIII most probably represents an additional undescribed subspecies. Both southern Turkish endemics are critically endangered, with only three surviving populations of fewer than 30 adults each. We recommend establishing sanctuaries for them, and including them in the IUCN Red List.