Banded karyotypes of the Persian squirrel Sciurus anomalus from Turkey

Abstract

Karyotypes of seven males and three females of the Persian squirrel, Sciurus anomalus, were analyzed with G- and C-banding techniques and Ag-NOR (nucleolus organizer region) staining. All specimens had the diploid number (2n) of 40 and fundamental autosomal arm number (FN) of 76. The autosomal complement comprised 6 pairs of metacentrics and 13 pairs of submetacentrics. The X chromosome was a medium-sized metacentric. The Y chromosome was a small submetacentric. In the C-banded karyotype, except for centromeric heterochromatin, heterochromatin blocks were absent. Only the terminal region of one medium-sized metacentric pair had detectable Ag-NORs. The uniqueness of the chromosomal characteristics of S. anomalus suggests that S. anomalus is distantly related to the other Old World Sciurus species (S. lis and S. vulgaris).