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Morphological Variability of the Steppe Lemming (Lagurus lagurus Pall.) in the Northeastern Part of the Species Range

The variability of 12 cranial and seven dental characters of adult steppe lemmings from six populations in the northeastern part of the species range was investigated using multivariate statistical analysis. The level of interpopulation differences in the size and shape of the skull significantly ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2022-12, Vol.49 (6), p.645-655
Main Authors: Dupal, T. A., Abramov, S. A., Litvinov, Yu. N.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The variability of 12 cranial and seven dental characters of adult steppe lemmings from six populations in the northeastern part of the species range was investigated using multivariate statistical analysis. The level of interpopulation differences in the size and shape of the skull significantly exceeds the level of sex differences. Isolated populations of the steppe lemming from the Chulym–Yenisei depression are larger in skull size compared to animals from Western Siberia and Kazakhstan, and they have a relatively shorter facial and nasal length, relatively shorter maxillary and mandibular tooth rows, and shorter occipital bone height. The animals from the Karasuk population are characterized by the smallest skull size. Comparison of the geographic differences between the samples to subspecies taxonomy let us assign the steppe lemmings from the Chulym–Yenisei depression to the subspecies abacanicus , and all others to the subspecies lagurus .
ISSN:1062-3590
1608-3059
DOI:10.1134/S106235902206005X