対馬産コキクガシラコウモリの佐護および美津島個体群における第3, 4, 5中手骨長の変異

抄録

Variations of relative length of the third, fourth and fifth metacarpals in two small local populations of Rhinolophus cornutus TEMMINCK, 1835, from the Tsushima Is., Japan, were studied. The samples of populations employed in this study were collected from abandoned mines of Sago, Kamiagata-machi, Kamiagata-gun, and Mitoshima, Mitoshima-machi, Shimoagata-gun. The Sago population was represented by 41 males and 24 females and Mitoshima population by 65 females.
The third was always shortest among the metacarpals, but fourth and fifth were variable in the samples examined. Three types in comparative length of the fourth and fifth metacarpals were recognized. They were classified as follows ; type I: fourth and fifth subequal, type II: fourth evidentyly longer than fifth, and type III: fourth evidently shorter than fifth.
The differences between the ratios of appearance of each type were examined basal on the formulae, S_p1-p2=√S_p1²+S_p2², Z=p1-p2/S_p1-p2.As the result it became clear that type III was always highest in the ratio among them. No differences were observed in the ratios of these types between different relative age classes or males and females. The ratios of types I and II were not different between samples of Sago and Mitoshima populations, however those of type III were evidently different between them. Therefore, the ratios of type III must be treated carefully in the course of taxonomic study in species level, because they may different considerably every small populations.