Intraspecific Variations Within Tatera indica Hardwicke, 1807 (Rodentia: Muridae) Populations in Hormozgan Province, Iran

In this study, 52 specimens of adult Indian Gerbil (Tatera indica) were collected by live traps (Sherman traps, Havahart Traps and Locally made traps) from range of different habitats of two localities, Geno Protected Area (or Geno Biosphere Reserve) and Minab County, Hormozgan Province. At first, external, cranial and dental characters were measured and then the ratio of measured characters to head, and body lengths were calculated. All measurements and ratios were represented by the descriptive statistics. The results of Independent Sample T-Test showed that there are no significant differences between sexes. Furthermore, in order to show variation between samples and the significance of external and cranial variables, Independent Sample T test was performed. Results of T-test showed that morphometric characteristics of the Indian gerbil populations in these regions are slightly different. Moreover, analysis showed that in Geno protected area population, 13 from 20 characters are significantly different than those in Minab population. The results from the PCA and MANOVA served to differentiate populations from mentioned regions based on the morphometric characteristics. In general, findings of the present study confirm the presence of significant morphological differences among populations of two studied regions.