Age, Size, and Growth of the Turkish Endemic Frog Pelophylax Caralitanus (Anura: Ranidae)

ABSTRACT Pelophylax caralitanus is a medium‐sized frog that is endemic to the upland Lake District of south‐central Turkey and currently identified as a threatened species as a result of overharvesting and habitat modification. In this report, demographic data are provided for four major lakeside populations of this species based on a skeletochronological analysis of bone growth in large samples of frogs that were captured and released during 2011 and 2013. Adult males (aged 2–9 years) and females (aged 2–10 years) ranged in size from 66 to 105 mm snout‐vent length (SVL) and 65 to 110 mm SVL, respectively, and typically attained sexual maturity in their second (low‐elevation sites) or third (high‐elevation sites) summer of growth following metamorphosis. The four populations exhibited differences in growth rate and age at sexual maturity, which appeared to reflect differences in the average monthly temperature and length of the growth season rather than elevation per se, that is, warmer temperatures and longer growth seasons resulted in smaller adults. All populations had a similar overall age structure, with approximately equal frequencies of individuals in the five age and size classes following maturity. Anat Rec, 301:1224–1234, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.