Life–History Traits of Eremias pleskei Nikolsky, 1905 from Northeastern Anatolia

Abstract

In this study, the life–history traits of Eremias pleskei are presented for the first time. A total of 27 samples (17 ♂♂ and 10 ♀♀) from Iğdır Province, Türkiye, were aged using skeletochronology. Student’s t-test was performed to compare mean differences in the variables between sexes. The relationships between age and snout–vent length (SVL) were determined through correlation. Growth patterns were estimated based on the von Bertalanffy equation. Lastly, survival rate and adult life expectancy were calculated for each sex. The mean SVL was 52.93 ± 1.28 mm in males and 46.23 ± 1.55 in females. The mean age was 4.88 ± 0.43 years and 3.20 ± 0.29 years for males and females, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that age and SVL were highly correlated in males (r = 0.49) and females (r = 0.75). The growth coefficient (K) was found to be 0.28 ± 0.18 in females and 0.62 ± 0.25 in males. The survival rate was 57.14% in females and 75.38% in males. The adult life expectancy was calculated at 2.83 years and 4.56 years in females and males, respectively. To sum up, males were larger than females, indicating male-biased sexual size dimorphism (SDI: −0.144). In addition, males had a greater mean age and longevity (max male age: 8 yr; max female age: 5 yr).