Morphometric characterisation of the native Honeybee,Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758, of Saudi Arabia |
| |
| Authors: | Yehya Alattal Ahmad Al Ghamdi Mohamad Al Sharhi Stephan Fuchs |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Baqshan Chair for Bee Research, Faculty of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabiayalattal@ksu.edu.sa;3. Baqshan Chair for Bee Research, Faculty of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;4. Institut für Bienenkunde, Polytechnische Gesellschaft, Goethe-University, Oberursel, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | The rediscovery of the Minor Snake-eyed Skink, Ablepharus grayanus, from two different localities in Sistan and Baluchestan and Kerman Provinces, southeastern Iran is reported. A total of 24 specimens was examined based on morphometrics, colour pattern and pholidotic characters. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) based on morphometric measurements revealed significant differences in terms of the snoutvent length (SVL) and fore- and hind limb distances (GA) between eastern and western populations of Ablepharus pannonicus. The most distinguishing characters of Ablepharus grayanus are morphological features, especially ear opening status and scales around the midbody (18-20 versus 20-22). Based on morphological grounds, Ablepharus grayanus is clearly distinguished from A. pannonicus occurring in the eastern and western regions of the Iranian Plateau. |
| |
| Keywords: | Apis mellifera jemenitica Apis mellifera litorea morphometry variants Saudi Arabia |
|
|
