New locality record of the critically endangered and endemic species, Lyciasalamandra billae (Franzen & Klewen, 1987) (Amphibia: Salamandridae) from Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The Bille’s Lycian Salamander, Lyciasalamandra billae is an endemic salamander species of Turkey and it has a very narrow distribution area in the Antalya province of the country. A limited number of the reported populations of this critically endangered species are known. The present study aims to show that the distribution of the species extends towards the northeast of Antalya province. Materials and Methods: Two adult individuals (1 ♂ and 1 ♀) were caught from the Sarisu (Antalya, Turkey) population. The morphometric features of the individuals were measured using a digital caliper. After morphometric measurements of the individuals were taken without performing any anesthetic procedure and killing any animals, the salamanders were released back to the habitat where they were caught.  Results: We recorded a new locality of the species located about 11 km northeast of Gedeller village. The habitat of the individuals from Sarisu consisted of a forested area. Vegetation of the habitat generally comprised pine trees and dwarf scrub plants. Rostrum– Anus length (RA) was 59.68 mm in the female individual and 59.03 mm in the male. The tail length (TL) was 50.14 mm in the female and 47.12 mm in the male.  Conclusion: The morphometric characters and color-pattern features of the specimens were compared with the specimens reported in the literature. We found that the morphometric proportions and ratios of the Sarisu population were similar to the results of the specimens in literature, except a slightly higher HW/HL ratio of the Sarisu population. Based on our morphological findings, we concluded that our specimens belonged to the L. b. billae. However, our conclusion was not dependent on molecular data.