Age structure of Hemidactylus turcicus (L., 1758) (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from southwestern Anatolia (Muğla, Turkey)

In this study, a total of 36 (12 ♂♂ , 18 ♀♀ , 6 juveniles) Hemidactylus turcicus specimens, caught in the vicinity of Muğla(Turkey) between 2006 and 2011, were evaluated using the skeletochronology method. The mean snout-to-vent length (SVL) wasmeasured as 28.45 ± 1.92 mm for juveniles, 50.53 ± 1.06 mm for males, and 51.1 ± 0.75 mm for females. When the cross-sections wereexamined, the age range was determined to be 4 8 years in the males and 4 9 years in the females. Individuals reach sexual maturityin 2 3 years. The maximum age was calculated as 9 years for a female. It was determined that there was a strong positive correlationbetween SVL and age structure in the male (r = 0.98) and female (r = 0.96) individuals.