Özet:

Skinks are the largest family of lizards; therefore, its species are widely throughout the world and especially diverse in Asia. However, the sexual dimorphism and geographic variation patterns were less studied in the western part of Asia continent. The Bridled Skink, Heremites vittatus, was examined in relatively narrow scale geography under these terms up to now. In this study, we used 27 metric and meristic characters from 210 specimens to assess sexual dimorphism and geographic variation patterns in the Anatolian Peninsula for the first time. It is known that Anatolia is composed with the joint of Arabian Plate’s northern edge to main Anatolid formations. Therefore, analysis was done to test the differences between Anatolian and Arabian populations. The results showed that Arabian females are larger than males, moreover the significant differences were observed in head size and limb characteristics are female-biased, too. Additionally, some characters, like NED, FIL, IPW and PW vary geographically, that might have an effect on natural selection to lead into genetic differentiation.

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