Mert Karış

Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University

Background and purpose: The diverse bioactive content in the skin and parotoid glands of amphibians makes them unique and highly potential sources for pharmacological developments. The main aim of the study is to determine the total protein amounts, in vitro cytotoxicities, antimicrobial activities and hemolytic effects of skin-parotoid secretions...

Despite decades of molecular research, phylogenetic relationships in Palearctic vipers (genus Vipera) still essentially rely on a few loci, such as mitochondrial barcoding genes. Here we examined the diversity and evolution of Vipera with ddRAD-seq data from 33 representative species and subspecies. Phylogenomic analyses of ∼ 1.1 Mb recovered nine...

Snake venom variations are a crucial factor to understand the consequences of snakebite envenoming worldwide and therefore it's important to know about toxin composition alterations between taxa. Palearctic vipers of the genera Vipera, Montivipera, Macrovipera and Daboia have high medical impacts across the Old World. One hotspot for their occurren...

Determining the age of any species allows it to be analyzed from the ontogenetic, demographic, and ecological perspectives. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the age structure of congener species (Lacerta media and Lacerta viridis) with the same ecological niche may vary in different areas. In this context, we applied skeletochron...

There is a guild of three phenotypically similar dwarf vipers of steppes and grassland from Western Asia (Turkiye, Transcaucasus, Iran), all with a threat status assessed by IUCN 2009: Vipera anatolica (CR), V. renardi eriwanensis (VU) and V. darevskii (CR). As their distribution and ecology is little known, and even their systematics stands with m...

The description of Vipera walser from the Northern Italian Alps as a new species (Ghielmi et al., 2016, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 54, 161) was one of the most unexpected surprises of European herpetology in the 21st century. In mitochondrial (mt) DNA, it is closely related to a group of vipers only present in the...

Turkey harbors a high diversity of viperid snakes, many with a high threat level on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, yet perception about even basic topics, such as distributions and conservation statuses, remain poor. We initiated a multi-year project 7 y ago to compensate these shortcomings and present herein dr...

We list most relevant locality data and voucher images of central-eastern Anatolian Mountain Viper taxa (Montivipera wagneri, M. b. bulgardaghica, M. b. albizona, and M. xanthina). For M. xanthina, we treat only its far southeastern range next to other mountain viper taxa. The list includes our hitherto unpublished records, previously published rec...

We report on two new populations of Lyciasalamandra flavimembris from Bodrum/Muğla, based on fieldwork in March 2018. We studied the new populations morphologically and genetically (16SrDNA). According to these records, the known distribution range of the genus is extended about 40 km to the West. Morphologically and genetically, specimens from the...

Turkey harbors a high diversity of viperid snakes, many with a high threat level on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, yet perception about even basic topics, such as distributions and conservation statuses, remain poor. We initiated a multi-year project 7 y ago to compensate these shortcomings and present herein dr...

Herein we report on the venom proteome of Vipera anatolica senliki, a recently discovered and hitherto unexplored subspecies of the critically endangered Anatolian meadow viper endemic to the Antalya Province of Turkey. Integrative venomics, including venom gland transcriptomics as well as complementary bottom-up and top-down proteomic analyses, we...

Lycian salamanders (genus Lyciasalamandra) constitute an exceptional case of micro-endemism of an amphibian species on the Asian Minor mainland. These viviparous salamanders are confined to karstic limestone formations along the southern Anatolian coast and some islands. We here study the genetic differentiation within and among 118 populations of...

If there was something written to my destiny: "Biology / Zoology is not a profession for me, it is my lifestyle. My feelings, approaches, and reactions are coming out of this lifestyle. If you want to learn something, experience it! If you take nature as an example, there is no chance of making a mistake! That is the right way!" ‒ Prof. Dr. Bayram...

The comparisons of Western Palaearctic vipers illustrate the appearance of several common toxin families for this region, but the composition ratio can be strongly divers between species as well as based on the used approaches. The Vipera anatolica senliki is a recently described subspecies of the critically endangered Anatolian Meadow viper (V. an...

Animal venoms are highly complex mixtures of bioactive agents and are investigated for the knowledge of biodiversity and development of potentially new therapeutical strategies. Therefore, neglected and newly discovered species are getting more into the focus of proteomic as well as transcriptomic studies. Over the past years, snake venom analyses...

Herein we report on the venom proteome of Vipera anatolica senliki, a recently discovered and hitherto unexplored subspecies of the critically endangered Anatolian Meadow viper endemic to the Antalya Province of Turkey. Integrative venomics, including venom gland transcriptomics as well as complementary bottom-up and top-down proteomic analyses, we...

Climatic conditions changing over time and space shape the evolution of organisms at multiple levels, including temperate lizards in the family Lacertidae. Here we reconstruct a dated phylogenetic tree of 262 lacertid species based on a supermatrix relying on novel phylogenomic datasets and fossil calibrations. Diversification of lacertids was acco...

If there's something written to my destiny: "Biology/Zoology is not a profession for me, it's my lifestyle. My feelings, approaches and reactions are coming out of this lifestyle. If you want to learn something, experience it! If you take natureas an example, there is no chance of making a mistake! That's the right way!" - Prof. Dr. Bayram GÖÇMEN....

We report on the variable venom composition of a population of the Caucasus viper (Vipera kaznakovi) in Northeastern Turkey. We applied a combination of venom gland transcriptomics, and de-complexing bottom-up and top-down venomics. In contrast to sole bottom-up venomics approaches and gel or chromatography based venom comparison, our combined appr...

A new population of Lyciasalamandra atifi is presented from Ürünlü village, Ibradı district, based on fieldwork conducted in March 2015. After morphological and statistical investigation we conclude that the Ürünlü population has a morphology similar to that of Lyciasalamandra atifi veithi from Dikmen village, Akseki district. We also uncover the M...

We present a considerable range extension, approximately 100 km to the north, for the Palestine Viper, Vipera palaestinae in the Mediterranean ecozone of southeastern Turkey (Alahan village, Antakya district, Hatay province). It is also the first record of the occurrence of Palestine viper from Turkey.

We report on the variable venom composition of a population of the Caucasus viper ( Vipera kaznakovi ) in Northeastern Turkey. We applied a combination of venom gland transcriptomics, as well as de-complexing bottom-up and top-down venomics, enabling the comparison of the venom proteomes from multiple individuals. In total, we identified peptides a...

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the total protein amounts, protein profiles, in vitro cytotoxicities, antimicrobial activities and hemolytic effects of skin secretions of the Lissotriton vulgaris and Triturus ivanbureschi . Methods Skin secretions were obtained, clarified, supernatants snap-frozen then lyophilized. Total protein a...

Highly bioactive compounds of the snake venom make them particular sources for anticancer agent development. They contain very rich peptide-protein structures. Therefore, they are very susceptible to environmental conditions such as temperature, pH, and light. In this study, Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana venom was encapsulated in PAMAM-G4 dendri...

A new subspecies of the Fazila’s Lycian Salamander Lyciasalamandra fazilae is described based on material from ten localities in the Köyceğiz, Ortaca and Dalaman area in south-western Turkey. It is distinguished from the nominotypical subspecies by differences in the colouration pattern, morphometry and the mitochondrial molecular marker 16S rRNA....

A new finding and range extension of poorly known local endemic Amanos Dwarf Snake, Muhtarophis barani from Kalecik village (Hasanbeyli district, Osmaniye province) is presented based on our fieldwork in southern Anatolia in April 2016. The new record represents the northernmost location and extends the distribution range of species about 36 km (ai...

The Nose-horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes) is one of the most widespread and venomous snakes in Europe, which causes high frequent snakebite accidents. The first comprehensive venom characterization of the regional endemic Transcaucasian Nose-horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana) and the Transdanubian Sand Viper (Vipera ammodytes montandoni...

A female Montivipera albizona (White-banded mountain viper) which was preserved in a terrarium at Reptilia biology and ecology laboratory, Zoology Section Department of Biology Ege University Faculty of Science, gave stillbirth repeatedly in October and November. Dead juveniles were weighed on a precision scale, lengths were measured and photograph...

We observed autohemorrhage as part of a death feigning defensive behavior of Nartix tessellata in Muradiye, Van (Eastern Anatolian Region, Turkey) and N. natrix in Enez, Edirne (Thrace Region, Turkey) during our herpetological excursions. It is the first record in the literature of this behavior for these snakes in Turkey. We report our observation...

We report on a second population of the recently described Vipera anatolica senliki from Mühür Dağ, Geyik Mountains in eastern Antalya Province, Turkey. The new population is located 10 km farther southeast on Barçın Dağ, yet the two populations are separated by interjacent mountains. We briefly compare both populations morphologically, as well as...

Vipers are one of the largest venomous snake families, that can be found in a wide range all over the world. A large agglomeration of various vipers is found around the Mediterranean Sea, where the Transdanubian Sand Viper (Vipera ammodytes montandoni), with their main area of occurrence in Bulgaria, was captured in the north-west of Turkey. The Tr...

We report on a new population of Vipera anatolica from the Geyik Mountain Range in eastern Antalya Province, Turkey. It represents only the second known location, and is situated in a valley about 200 km east from the terra typica at Kohu Dağ in western Antalya Province. We compare both populations and, based on marked differences in morphology, ha...

The Herpetofauna of Niğde Province

We present an unusual stillbirth observation of Darevsky's Viper (Vipera darevskii) for the first time from northeastern Turkey. A female specimen has given stillbirths in captivity, a juvenile and two embryos in October, 2016.

We report on several new populations of the Marmaris salamander, Lyciasalamandra flavimembris, discovered from Muğla province, based on our scientific fieldwork in February-April 2015. We encountered five new localities for the species, one of them belongs to L. f. flavimembris, and four localities for L. l. ilgazi, respectively. In order to determ...

As discussed at the 4BOV meeting in Athens, 2014, the information displayed in “The IUCN-Red List of Threatened Species” for Anatolian vipers goes back to assessments made in 2008 with three taxa classified as CRITICALLY ENDANGERED: 1) Vipera darevskii, 2) Montivipera wagneri, 3) V. anatolica; two as ENDANGERED: 4) M. (bulgardaghica) albizona, 5) V...

The broad geographic distribution of venomous snakes (viperidae) with their diverse habitats and different environmental conditions make vipers ideal for analyzing substantial variation in venom composition and assess potential causes of venom variation.[1] Hereinafter we focused on the venom composition of three viper species with different habita...

We confirmed the occurrence and report some ecological traits of the yellow-bellied toad, Bombina variegata from Turkish Thrace. The specimens were caught in April 2016 from ponds and several streams of Karacahasan Mountain, Enez District, Edirne Province. In order to determine and confirm its systematic position, we genetically analysed the tissue...

We report on the reproduction of the Transcaucasian Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana, from a northern locality of Işık Mountain (near Yoncalı village, Çerkeş, Çankırı province) in Turkey. During our fieldwork on 15 June 2015, we found a female in gestation period and brought it to the laboratory for our venom-milking studies. It...

Skin-parotoid secretions of amphibians contain a large number of biologically active compounds which are thought to play several roles, either in the regulation of the physiological functions of the skin or in defense mechanisms against predators or microorganisms. Especially, the biodiversity of biochemical compounds in the auricular and skin glan...

Vipers are distributed in a wide range all over the world but especially located around the Mediterranean Sea. The transcaucasian nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes transcaucasia) is spread in the north-east of Turkey and sections of Georgia. The investigation of venomous vipers is interesting for the search of different kinds of pharmacological d...

A new subspecies of the Bille’s Lycian Salamander Lyciasalamandra billae is described from four localities in the vicinity of Geyikbayɪrɪ nearby Antalya, Turkey. It is distinguished from the nominotypical subspecies by colouration and surface pattern. The distribution area of the new subspecies is nested within the range of Lyciasalamandra antalyan...

During fieldwork excursions on June and September 2015 we obtained new distributional records for three lizard species. Here, we present the first record of Darevskia rudis tristis and Lacerta viridis meridionalis from Turkey's Ankara province and confirm the occurrence of Anguis fragilis in this locality.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity and iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) inhibitory, and antioxidant activity in order to assess the traditional usage of Liquidambar orientalis Mill resin extract. Methods: Different solvent extracts of Liquidambar orientalis Mill resin were prepared. The cytotoxicity o...

Object: Skin-parotoid secretions of amphibians contain a large number of biologically active compounds which are thought to play several roles, either in the regulation of the physiological functions of the skin or in defense mechanisms against predators or microorganisms. Especially, the biodiversity of biochemical compounds in the auricular and s...

New data on the distribution of the Transcaucasian Nose-horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana) from Anatolia are presented, based on fieldwork carried out in June 2015. Two new localities from Çankırı and Sivas provinces were recorded along with a few ecological data. The species' range was extended to more southern parts of Anatolia, espe...

We report on a new population of Luschan’s Lycian Salamander discovered near Karadere village, Eşen, Fethiye-Muğla province, during scientific fieldwork in February 2011. In order to determine its taxonomic status, the Karadere population was examined morphologically, serologically and ecologically; and compared with the nearest population known; t...

North-eastern Anatolia harbours a high diversity of viperid snakes with only a limited knowledge about their distribution and with relationships among these vipers not yet fully resolved. Moreover, information on habitat attributes for most of these vipers is scarce. We initiated a multi-year project to improve our knowledge on their distribution a...

North-eastern Anatolia harbours a high diversity of viperid snakes with only a limited knowledge about their distribution and with relationships among these vipers not yet fully resolved. Moreover, information on habitat attributes for most of these vipers is scarce. We initiated a multi-year project to improve our knowledge on their distribution a...

Two new localities of the Striped Dwarf Snake, Eirenis lineomaculatus, from Akçadağ, Malatya province, and Artuklu, Mardin province, are presented based on our fieldwork conducted in eastern and south-eastern Turkey in May-June, 2014. The Akçadağ record represents the northernmost locality and about 30 km (air distance) far to the north from the ne...

A total of seven specimens (5 males and 2 females) belonging to the poorly known Anatolian Meadow Viper, Vipera anatolica collected during the field trips of the late April and the mid-October 2014 were evaluated taxonomically by describing its pholidotic, metric features and other descriptive characteristics. Some biologicaland ecological informat...

A new locality record for the Hatay Lizard Phoenicolacerta laevis from Özdere (Menderes, İzmir) is presented based on our fieldwork in coastal Aegean Sea Region in July 2013. Our record is north westernmost locality and represents a considerable range extension for both species and genus, around 165 km air distances to the northwest from nearest kn...

In this study, 3 new locality records of Natrix megalocephala are reported from Ardahan, Giresun and Zonguldak provinces, respectively in eastern Anatolia (Asian portion of Turkey), as well as in the eastern and western Black Sea region of Anatolia. Previously the westernmost known locality for N. megalocephala in the Anatolian Black Sea region was...

Additional data on the distribution of the terrestrial salamander Lyciasalamandra atifi, endemic to Turkey, are presented, based on fieldwork conducted in 2011. Five new localities situated around the Cebireis Mountain (Cebel-i Reis, Alanya, Antalya) were recorded. These represent a considerable range extension for both species and genus, around 35...