Life history traits and spatial characteristics of an Asia Minor thin-toed gecko population (<i>Mediodactylus heterocercus</i> Blanford, 1874).

The aim of the present study was to obtain information on certain life history traits such as life span and age of sexual maturity of individuals of the species <i>Mediodactylus heterocercus</i> using the method of skeletochronology. A total of 31 specimens (12 males, 19 females) was aged from a population located in Güzelköy (Haliliye, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye). The age of male individuals ranged from 4 to 9 years, while that of females ranged from 3 to 10 years, with mean values of 6.25±1.60 and 5.21±1.55 years, respectively. The age of sexual maturity was 3 years for both sexes. The mean age of individuals in the population did not show a statistically significant difference between the sexes. The calculated mean values of snout-vent length (SVL) were 41.90±4.31 mm (33.53-46.69 mm) for males and 39.16±5.05 mm (30.18-48.29 mm) for females. It was concluded that the difference in SVL measurements between the sexes was not statistically significant, but a significant relationship between age and SVL was found. The species <i>M. heterocercus</i> does not follow Bergmann's rule with regard to climatic or topographic heterogeneity.