MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPECKLED GROUND SQUIRREL SPERMOPHILUS
SUSLICUS OF THE CENTRAL PART OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA 

Proyavka Svetlana Vyacheslavovna, Senior laboratory assistant, sub-department of geography, biology and chemistry, Lipetsk State Pedagogical University named after P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shanskiy  (42 Lenina street, Lipetsk, Russia) svpivanova@yandex.ru
Shubina Yulia Eduardovna, Candidate of biological sciences, associate professor, sub-department of geography, biology and chemistry, Lipetsk State Pedagogical University named after  P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shanskiy (42 Lenina street, Lipetsk, Russia)  J-Shubina@yandex.ru
Savinetskaya Luidmila Evgen'evna, Researcher, laboratory of population ecology, A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (33 Leninsky avenue, Moscow, Russia)  ligen54@rambler.ru
Shekarova Olga Nikolaevna, Candidate of biological sciences, researcher, laboratory of population ecology, A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (33 Leninsky avenue, Moscow, Russia) shekar@mail.ru

 599.322.2

 10.21685/2307-9150-2017-2-1

Background. The current data on morphological variability of Spermophilus suslicus are quite fragmentary and mainly based on the analysis of zoological museums’ collections. Special studies of the subject have not been conducted. The aim of the work is to receive comparative morphological characteristics of the speckled ground squirrel population of Bryansk, Lipetsk and Tambov regions of Russia.
Materials and methods. The material was collected in 2010–2016 in the territory of Bryansk, Lipetsk and Tambov regions. The total number of the investigated adult ters: body weight, body length, tail length, foot length, ear height. The statistic processing of themeasurement results was done in the Excel program. The statistical significance of the differences were evaluated by the Student’s test.
Results and conclusions. The study presents comparative characteristics of the morphological features of several populations of the speckled ground squirrel. Larger species are typical for Lipetsk region. Males of the speckled ground squirrel are characterized by a larger size and greater variability of weight and body length than females. Any significant morphological differences in the studied populations have not been revealed.

speckled ground squirrel, morphology, sexual dimorphism, Bryansk region, Lipetsk region, Tambov region

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