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The basic anatomy of the lacertid hemipenis (intromittent organ) and methods for its investigation are described. In many members of the Lacertidae, the hemipenis has a structure quite unlike that of other squamate reptiles: the distal lobes of the retracted organ are complexly folded and there is a well-defined supporting structure of dense connective tissue, the armature. This incorporates blood sinuses and has an intramuscular portion embedded in the m. retractor penis magnus and two club-shaped bodies, the clavulae, that support the lobes in the erect organ. Unarmatured hemipenes occur in some lacertids and, like those of other squamates, possess sac-like lobes in the retracted state, but they are singular in having the lobes invested by the m. retractor penis magnus. It is argued that many of these apparently primitive hemipenes are in fact secondary derivatives of the armatured type. There is considerable inter-specific variation in hemipenial structure which is described systematically. In some cases this involves differences in size, asymmetry and simplification, which may arise as physical isolating mechanisms and is useful in distinguishing otherwise very similar species, particularly in the genus Mesalina (p. 1253). Other shared derived hemipenial features provide useful information about relationships between species and higher taxa and a summary of the hypotheses that they support is given (p. 1254).

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A key and check list is provided to the 96 species and six additional subspecies of lizards and two species of amphisbaenians known to occur in and around Arabia. Philochortus neumanni, Lacerta jayakari, Lacerta cyanura, Latastia longicaudata andersonii, Mesalina guttulata, Mesalina olivieri, Mesalina martini, Mesalina brevirostris, Mesalina ayunensis, Mesalina adramitana, Acanthodactylus orientalis, Acanthodactylus robustus, Acanthodactylus opheodurus, Acanthodactylus boskianus, Acanthodactylus felicis, Acanthodactylus yemenicus, Acanthodactylus masirae, Acanthodactylus opheodurus, Acanthodactylus gongrorhynchatus, Acanthodactylus haasi, Acanthodactylus schmidti, Acanthodactylus blanfordii, Acanthodactylus arabicus, Acanthodactylus grandis, Acanthodactylus tilburyi, Acanthodactylus scutellatus hardyi.

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Differences in surface structure (ober- hautchen) of body scales of lacertid lizards involve cell size, shape and surface profile, presence or absence of fine pitting, form of cell margins, and the occurrence of longitudinal ridges and pustular projections. Phylogenetic information indicates that the primitive pattern involved narrow strap-shaped cells, with low posteriorly overlapping edges and relatively smooth surfaces. Deviations from this condition produce a more sculptured surface and have developed many times, although subsequent overt reversals are uncommon. Like variations in scale shape, different patterns of dorsal body microornamentation appear to confer different and conflicting performance advantages. The primitive pattern may reduce friction during locomotion and also enhances dirt shedding, especially in ground-dwelling forms from moist habitats. However, this smooth microornamentation generates shine that may compromise cryptic coloration, especially when scales are large. Many derived features show correlation with such large scales and appear to suppress shine. They occur most frequently in forms from dry habitats or forms that climb in vegetation away from the ground, situations where dirt adhesion is less of a problem. Microornamentation differences involving other parts of the body and other squamate groups tend to corroborate this functional interpretation. Microornamentation features can develop on lineages in different orders and appear to act additively in reducing shine. In some cases different combinations may be optimal solutions in particular environments, but lineage effects, such as limited reversibility and different developmental proclivities, may also be important in their genesis. The fine pits often found on cell surfaces are unconnected with shine reduction, as they are smaller than the wavelengths of most visible light.

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In this paper we deal on the ultraviolet color (invisible to us): where we can find it, the capability of animals to see it and the advantages that this color perception offers to them. As the simplest way to detect it is the photography, we describe and review how to photograph the UV, as a result of 15 years of amateur experience, searching and testing nearly in complete blindness due to the lack of practical information about “how to do it”. We describe the different kinds of photography (chemical and digital); the cameras and objectives suitable (both astronomically expensive ones and cheap options); what are the best characteristics that the objectives should have for this purpose; the films suitable for their use in chemical photography; the different filters (current or discontinued) manufactured along the years; and the subtle combinations among the different materials to obtain pure UV photographs. This kind of scientific photography is mainly used in forensics, forgery detection, art dermatology and less in Natural History, despite the fact that a great part of animals see this color and use it in important questions of their biology as the social behavior, mate choice or the food search.

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The sclerotic ring consists of several bones that form in the sclera of many reptiles. This element has not been well studied in squamates, a diverse order of reptiles with a rich fossil record but debated phylogeny. Squamates inhabit many environments, display a range of behaviours, and have evolved several different body plans. Most importantly, many species have secondarily lost their sclerotic rings. This research investigates the presence of sclerotic rings in squamates and traces the lineage of these bones across evolutionary time. We compiled a database on the presence/absence of the sclerotic ring in extinct and extant squamates and investigated the evolutionary history of the sclerotic ring and how its presence/absence and morphology is correlated with environment and behaviour within this clade. Of the 400 extant species examined (59 families, 214 genera), 69% have a sclerotic ring. Those species that do not are within Serpentes, Amphisbaenia, and Dibamidae. We find that three independent losses of the sclerotic ring in squamates are supported when considering both evolutionary and developmental evidence. We also show that squamate species that lack, or have a reduced, sclerotic ring, are fossorial and headfirst burrowers. Our dataset is the largest squamate dataset with measurements of sclerotic rings, and supports previous findings that size of the ring is related to both environment occupied and behaviour. Specifically, scotopic species tend to have both larger inner and outer sclerotic ring apertures, resulting in a narrower ring of bone than those found in photopic species. Non-fossorial species also have a larger sclerotic ring than fossorial species. This research expands our knowledge of these fascinating bones; with further phylogenetic analyses scleral ossicles could become an extremely useful character trait for inferring the behaviour of fossil squamates.

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Animals communicate via a variety of sensory channels and signals. Studies on acoustic and visual communication systems suggest that differences in the physical environment contribute to the variety of signalling behaviour, with species investing in those signals that are transmitted best under the local conditions. Whether or not environmental tuning also occurs in chemical communication systems has received much less attention. In the present study, we examined the effect of several aspects of the physical environment on the chemical communication system of lacertid lizards (family Lacertidae). The numbers of femoral pores are used as a proxy reflecting how much a particular species invests in and relies upon chemical signalling. Femoral pores are specialized epidermal structures that function as a secretion channel for the waxy substance produced by glands. In some lacertid species, the secretion carries infochemicals that play an important role in social communication. The number of femoral pores varies considerably among species. We have compiled data on femoral pore numbers for 162 species and tested for the effects of climate and substrate use. After correcting for body size and taking the phylogenetic relationships among the species into account, we found no effect of climate conditions or latitude on species pore numbers. Substrate use did affect pore numbers: shrub-climbing species tended to have fewer femoral pores than species inhabiting other substrates.

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A complete catalogue is provided for the type specimens of lacertid lizards in the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum, Berlin, as of December, 1993. The collection contains a total of 514 type specimens, representing 63 taxa, of which 42 are currently regarded as valid at the specific or subspecific level. Types representing an additional four taxa appear to have been lost from the collection. The collections are especially rich in African lacertid types and in historically significant specimens collected early in the Nineteenth Century by Pallas, Eversmann, and Hemprich & Ehrenberg. Also present are the type series of many subspecies of Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis described by Eisentraut.

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Algeria is a case study of biodiversity ignorance. To date, there are neither complete inventories for any taxa nor atlas across the country! Yet, Algeria is of great importance for global biodiversity. The coastal area of Algeria is part of the global biodiversity hostpot which is the Mediterranean perimeter and has several regional red spots of biodiversity. Moreover, the Saharan part encompasses a diversity of endemic organisms adapted to the strong conditions of drought. The Algerian authorities are deploying an ambitious project for conservation aiming to reach 50% of the country`s surface as protected areas! However, the location of these protected areas and their management don’t obey to a scientific evidence based, but are rather based on experts opinion. The main aim of this thesis is the study of the biodiversity ignorance distribution in Algeria by focusing on the `Linnean, Wallacean, and Darwinian Shortfalls` and to contribute to reduce them. The first chapter aims at reducing the Linnean Shortfall by proposing 1) a first checklist of reptiles and amphibians of Algeria which is the result of an accurate review of scientific publications on these taxa in North Africa. 2) a first pre-assessment of the conservation status of reptiles and amphibians of Algeria for the production of the first national red list. The second part of this manuscript deals with the ignorance of the geographical distribution of species. The purpose of this part is to map the ignorance which is defined as the difference between the expected specific richness diversity and the observed specific richness. The predicted species richness was modelled with two approaches: 1 ecological niche modelling with the maximum entropy method (MaxEnt) to predict the suitable habitats for each species and then add the different binary layers of species presence to calculate the specific richness. 2) Minimum convex polygon method was used to create range maps of each species and were auditioned to obtain predicted species richness. Both approaches have shown the same trend at a national scale: the concentration of the richest areas along the Saharan Atlas and the High Plateaus which are the transition zone between the Sahara and the Mediterranean part of Algeria. The opposition of the Saharan with a low species richness and the northern part with a higher species richness. Finally, the Saharan massifs of the Hoggar and Tassili form a very distinct zone with a much greater wealth compared to the rest of the Sahara. In terms of gaps, in the northern part, Kabylie, El Kala National Park and the Oran region are fairly well surveyed. In the Sahara, only a few points are clearly well prospected as Biskra, Bechar and some areas of the Hoggar and Tassili. The third part deals with the distribution of genetic llineages in the Maghreb. The aim of this section is to locate the phylogeographic breaks between the divergent eastern and western populations of the Maghreb and to try to understand the mechanisms that led to this pattern of genetic diversity. To answer these questions, I carried out a comparative phylogeography on 11 species of reptiles and amphibians with continuous and wide distribution in the Maghreb. Two suture zones have been identified: one zone on the border of Algeria and Morocco, the other in Kabylia west of the Soummam valley. The divergences between the eastern clades and the western clades occurred between the pre-Messinian periods up to the pliopleistocene boundary and were maintained in climatic refugia in the East and West of the Maghreb.

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New informations concerning systematical questions within the family Lacertidae, which were published during the last year, are presented.

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Field notes and vivarium observations on Philochortus zolii are given as contribution to the biology of this little-known genus of lacer-tids. These concern the activity rhythm, food preferences, weights and sizes and coloura-tion of the five captive specimens. The largest specimen had a maximum snout-vent length of 61 mm, a tail length of 190 mm and weighted 6.24 g. Unhappily no reproduction was recorded, which very well may have been caused by a lack of adult males. Possible ovi-position occurred in the vivarium in July 2009. The annual activity was lowest in November to February; in the warmer months the daily activity peaked with the start focused around 10-12 o`clock, in later years this shifted to 14-17 o`clock because of the position of the vi-varium when the lizards could profit from the sunshine coming from the south-west. The curious way the Philochortus walk with the dorsal side up on the gauze cover of their cage, is described and discussed, as is their locomotion in the vivarium.

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Most lacertids are active foragers, but intrafamilial variation in foraging mode is greater than in most lizard families. We collected data on eight species of African lacertids to assess this variation. Both active and ambush foraging occurred within Pedioplanis and Meroles. Meroles ctenodactylus had a proportion of time moving and proportion of attacked prey detected while moving intermediate to those for actively foraging and ambushing Pedioplanis, but its number of movements per minute was exceptionally high. This species has a unique mixed foraging mode. Like active foragers, it seeks food by tongue-flicking while moving and spends a high percentage of the time moving. Like ambush foragers, it searches visually for prey during pauses between movements. Our findings confirm published data on four Kalahari lacertids. We discuss the history of foraging modes in advanced lacertids.

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The analysis of biogeographical structure and patterns of endemism are central topics of biogeography, but require exhaustive distribution data. A lack of accurate broad-scale information on the distribution of reptiles has so far limited the analyses of biogeographical structure. Here we analysed the distribution of reptiles within the broad-sense Western Palearctic to assess biogeographical regionalization using phylogenetic and non-phylogenetic approaches, identified areas of endemism and evaluated the environmental factors pro- moting community uniqueness and endemism. We gathered distributional records from the literature and from the field, mapping the distribution of all the Western Palearctic reptiles on a 1-degree resolution grid. bsim dissimilarity and hierarchical clustering was used to identify bioregions, analysing data both at the species and at the genus level, and considering phylogenetic dissimilarity. Consensus areas of endemism were identified on the basis of the optimality criterion. We then assessed whether biogeographical structure is related to present-day climate, insularity, orography and velocity of climate change during the Late Qua- ternary. The genus-level analysis identified five main biogeographical regions within the Western Palearctic, in partial agreement with previous proposals, while the species-level analysis identified more bioregions, largely by dividing the ones identified by genera. Phylogenetic bioregions were generally consistent with the non- phylogenetic ones. The strongest community uniqueness was observed in subtropical warm climates with seasonal precipitation and low productivity. We found nine consensus areas of endemism, mostly in regions with limited velocity of Quaternary climate change and warm subtropical climates. The biogeographical structure of Western Palearctic reptiles is comparable to what has been observed in other vertebrates, with a clear distinction between the Saharo-Arabian-Sindian and Euro-Mediterranean herpetofaunas. Unlike other vertebrates, in reptiles the highest uniqueness and endemism is observed in dry climates, but the velocity of climate change during the Quaternary remains a major driver of endemism across all the vertebrates.

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The 84 lizards of the Franchini Collection in the Museum of Natural History and Scientific Instrumentation of Moderni has been re-evaluated. A deal of incorrectly determined and unidentified material has now been identified, and the nomenclature of correctly identified specimens has been updated to conform to modern usage. The collection now includes- 34 species, almost all from Somalia or Libia.

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An adult lacertid lizard of approximately 25 cm total length, with a long brownish red tail climbing on a tree trunk was observed on July 23, 2023 in the municipality of Tagmart-East, in the wilaya of Tamanrasset, Algeria. The observation was published on the iNaturalist platform and led to the determination of Philochortus zolii. The observed climbing behavior seems to be typical for Philochortus zolii. It is the second observation of the species for Algeria.

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DNA sequences from parts of the 12S, 16S and cytochrome b mitochondrial genes, which totalled 1049 aligned base pairs, were used to estimate the relationships of 49 species of Lacertidae, including representatives of 19 out of the 23 recognized genera and 23 species of the paraphyletic genus Lacerta. These data were used, together with morphological information, to estimate the relationships within the family. Molecular evidence corroborates the monophyletic status of many genera and species groups originally based on morphology. It indicates that Psammodromus forms a clade with Gallotia, which is the sister taxon of all other lacertids. These comprise three units: the primarily Afrotropical armatured group; the largely Oriental Takydromus; and the west Palaearctic Lacerta and its derivatives, Podarcis and Algyroides. Morphology also supports the first three assemblages, but suggests that they are derived from a paraphyletic Lacerta. Within Lacerta and its allies, DNA sequence analysis corroborates the affinity of some members of each of the subgenera Lacerta s. str. and Timon, and of the L. saxicola group. It also supports the relationship of L. monticola, L. bonnali and L. horvathi, and suggests that the L. parva–L. fraasi clade and L. brandti are not related to Psammodromus–Gallotia, as morphology indicates, but instead are associated respectively with the L. danfordi and L. saxicola groups. DNA sequence data provide additional evidence that the eastern Arabian `Lacerta` jayakari and `L.` cyanura are members of the armatured clade and also sister species. Our analysis supports an origin for present lacertids in west Eurasia. The armatured clade invaded Africa, probably in the mid-Miocene, spreading widely and evolving increasingly xeric-adapted forms, one lineage of which later moved back into the Palaearctic. `Lacerta` jayakari and `L.` cyanura are assigned to Omanosaura, Lutz and Mayer 1986. The name Gallotiinae Cano, Baez, Lopez-Jurado and Ortega, 1984 is available for the Gallotia–Psammodromus clade, Eremiainae Shcherbak 1975 for the armatured clade and Lacertinae for Lacerta, Podarcis and Algyroides. Two new subgenera of Lacerta are proposed here: Caucasilacerta for L. saxicola and its allies, and Parvilacerta for L. parva and L. fraasi.

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The evolutionary diversification of many terrestrial vertebrate groups is strongly linked to climatic events in the Cenozoic, the period from 65 Million years ago to today when modern animals first appeared. I investigated the effects of Cenozoic climate change on the taxonomic and morphological diversification of the Old World lizard family Lacertidae, with particular emphasis on the African radiation. African lacertids exhibit an unusual pattern of diversification, in which their highest species richness occurs in deserts north and south of the equator, despite being spread throughout the continent. This disparity is particularly surprising given that desert lacertids are thought to be evolutionarily younger than their mesic-dwelling relatives, suggesting increased diversification rates in arid habitats. To identify the evolutionary factors underlying this pattern, I use a combination of phylogenetic, morphological and ecological techniques. In Chapter 1, I apply Bayesian methods and fossil-based calibrations to molecular sequence data to construct a time-calibrated phylogeny for Lacertidae. I estimate that the family arose in the early Cenozoic, with the majority of their African radiation occurring in the Eocene and Oligocene. In Chapter 2, I describe changes in lacertid body shape across biomes and substrates, and find widespread morphological convergence in similar habitat types. I suggest that in addition to foraging demands, fluctuating and extreme climatic conditions, largely driven by precipitation and temperature, contribute to morphological convergence across independent arid-dwelling clades. Finally, I test if ancestral transitions in ecology, morphology, and rates of diversification temporally coincide with paleoclimatic events in the Cenozoic. I use High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography to characterize changes in the skull related to life in arid habitats, and apply maximum likelihood methods to test if the origins of those traits temporally coincide with significant shifts in habitat, diversification rates and climatic changes. My results show that African lacertids experienced three major peaks in diversification, accompanied by the evolution of suites of arid-adapted morphological traits. These changes coincide with climatic shifts in Africa, including the transition from closed forests to open grasslands and savanna in the late Oligocene, prior to the peak temperatures of the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, and following the formation of the Benguela current leading to hyper-aridity in southern Africa. I conclude that deserts are important centers for reptile evolution, but that expected changes in climate due to global warming may outpace the ability of arid-dwelling species to adapt and persist in the future.

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While global variation in taxonomic diversity is strongly linked to latitude, the extent to which morphological disparity follows geographical gradients is less well known. We estimated patterns of lineage diversification, morphological disparity and rates of phenotypic evolution in the Old World lizard family Lacertidae, which displays a nearly inverse latitudinal diversity gradient with decreasing species richness towards the tropics. We found that lacertids exhibit relatively constant rates of lineage accumulation over time, although the majority of morphological variation appears to have originated during recent divergence events, resulting in increased partitioning of disparity within subclades. Among subclades, tropical arboreal taxa exhibited the fastest rates of shape change while temperate European taxa were the slowest, resulting in an inverse relationship between latitudinal diversity and rates of phenotypic evolution. This pattern demonstrates a compelling counterexample to the ecological opportunity theory of diversification, suggesting an uncoupling of the processes generating species diversity and morphological differentiation across spatial scales.

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the Lacertidae is one of the most diverse and widespread lizard families throughout Eurasia and Africa. Several studies so far have attempted to unravel the phylogeny of Lacertidae using morphological and mole- cular data. However, the intra-family relationships remain unclear. in an effort to explore the phylogenetic relationships within the family Lacertidae, a concatenated dataset of 5727 bp from six genes (two nuclear and four mitochondrial) and 40 genera was assembled based on GenBank database. Phylogenetic inference analy- ses were conducted using Maximum Parsimony (MP), Bayesian inference (Bi) and Maximum Likelihood (ML), revealing that even a combined dataset of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes is not able to resolve the phylogenetic relationships of the Lacertidae family under the tribe level.

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The dangers of helminth infestations for lizards, particularly infestations with nematodes und cestodes, are reported. Infection routes, diagnoses, und treatments are described.

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Herpetological research in Somalia dates from 1881 (G. Revoil`s Expedition) and progressively spread over most of the Somali territory thanks above all to the scientific missions conducted by R.H.R. Taylor (1929–34), G. Scortecci (1931, 1953, 1957) and, since 1959, by the University of Florence and the « Centro di Studio per la Faunistica ed Ecologia Tropicali » of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Florence, Italy). According to this list of the amphibians and reptiles reported to date for the Somali Democratic Republic, there are 27 species of amphibians, four of which (= 14.8%) are endemic; all these species belong strictly to the Ethiopian subregion sensu Darlington (1957). A monotypic genus, Lanzarana, is endemic. The reptiles are represented by at least 200 species. Excluding the marine species (six turtles and one snake), there are 194 species, of which 75 (= 38.6%) ar endemic to Somalia. Four genera are endemic: Xenagama (Agamidae), Haackgreerius gen. n. (Scincidae), Aeluroglena and Brachyophis (Colubridae). The majority of the Somali reptilian fauna is composed of species belonging strictly to the Ethiopian subregion sensu Darlington (1957): 164 species (= 84.5%). The remaining 30 species (= 15.5%) have a different, prevalently south-Mediterranean geonemy. Some reptiles inhabiting both Somalia and south-west Arabia confirm the well-known close biogeographic relationship existing between the two countries.

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Most herpetological research in Eritrea was conducted during the period 1827–1930 and was almost exclusively the preserve of Italian enthusiasts, who concentrated their efforts within an 80 km radius of Asmara. Virtually no field work has been undertaken on the Eritrean mainland in the past 65 years and a great deal still remains to be learned about the composition, distribution and status of the herpetofauna. The 109 species provisionally listed in the present work (Anura 19, Testudines 9, Crocodylia 1, Sauria 45, Serpentes 35) are predominantly savanna (37.5%) and deserticolous (33.1%) forms and the Eritrean highlands are impoverished by aridity. Of eight taxa which extend into this region from the Ethiopian Plateau, only three appear to be genuinely montane and the ability of the remainder to colonise lowland sites elsewhere in their ranges is taken as evidence of their resistance to drought conditions. Rhinotyphlops erythraeus (Scortecci 1928), which is known only from the type locality at an altitude of 2200 m, might conceivably be an Eritrean montane endemic, but the two nominally endemic anurans have no evident associations with high elevations and may therefore extend into neighbouring territories. The taxonomic status of Phrynobatrachus tellinii Peracca 1904 is very uncertain, but it has been possible to reach more definite conclusions about Rana cornii Scortecci 1929 and R. demarchii Scortecci 1929 following examination of the single surviving syntype of each species, recently rediscovered in London. The evidence from these specimens is that R. cornii is a junior synonym of Ptychadena schubotzi (Sternfeld 1917), while the name demarchii seems to represent a valid species which is most appropriately retained in the genus Rana (sensu DUBOIS 1992), at least until its relationships can be more satisfactorily determined on the basis of fresh material.

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This review lists Agama smithii Boulenger 1896 as a synonym of Agama agama (Linnaeus 1758), Agama trachypleura Peters 1982 as a synonym of Acanthocercus phillipsii (Boulenger 1895) and describes for the first time Acanthocercus guentherpetersi n. sp. Without more convincing evidence, Chamaeleon ruspolii Boettger 1893 cannot be accepted as specifically distinct from Chamaeleo dilepis Leach 1819, nor Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme 1985 from C. africanus Laurenti 1768. Consequently, 101 species of lizard are currently recognised in Ethiopia, of which some 40% appear to be denizens of the Somali-arid zone. This significant proportion is attributable in part to the importance of the Horn of Africa as a centre for reptilian diversification and endemicity, in part to the fact that this lowland fauna was rather extensively sampled during the 1930s, but also to the conspicuous neglect of lizards in other regions of the country. Mountain and forested habitats are widespread in Ethiopia, so it seems extraordinary to record only five saurian species which are believed to be endemic in such environments. The inference that there are many more still to be discovered has important implications for conservation, because montane forest is known to be among the most threatened of Ethiopian biomes and there is clearly an urgent need for its herpetofauna to be more thoroughly researched and documented.

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The checklist is based primarily on extensive collections made by the United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3) in Egypt. Forms listed are those that are known or expected to occur in Egypt (including Sinai), and those that have been reported from Egypt without further verification. The systematic lists contain original citations, references to major faunal works, and the most recent reviews of each particular group. From the 3.424 specimens obtained, adequate distributional data are now available for most forms in Egypt. Maps showing collecting localities for each species are also presented for use in future sympatric and ecological studies.

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A commented lacertids list for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula and Asia is given.

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The family Lacertidae encompasses more than 250 species distributed in the Palearctis, Ethiopis and Orientalis. Lacertids have been subjected in the past to several morphological and molecular studies to establish their phylogeny. However, the problems of convergent adaptation in morphology and of excessively variable molecular markers have hampered the establishment of well supported deeper phylogenetic relationships. Particularly the adaptations to xeric environments have often been used to establish a scenario for the origin and radiation of major lineages within lacertids. Here we present a molecular phylogenetic study based on two nuclear marker genes and representatives of 37 lacertid genera and distinct species groups (as in the case of the collective genus Lacerta). Roughly 1600 bp of the nuclear rag1 and c-mos genes were sequenced and analyzed. While the results provide good support to the hitherto suggested main subfamilies of Gallotiinae (Gallotia and Psammodromus), Eremiainae and Lacertinae [Harris, D.J., Arnold, E.N., Thomas, R.H., 1998. Relationships of lacertid lizards (Reptilia: Lacertidae) estimated from mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphology. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 265, 1939–1948], they also suggest unexpected relationships. In particular, the oriental genus Takydromus, previously considered the sister-group to the three subfamilies, is nested within Lacertinae. Moreover, the genera within the Eremiainae are further divided into two groups, roughly corresponding to their respective geographical distributions in the Ethiopian and the Saharo-Eurasian ranges. The results support an independent origin of adaptations to xeric conditions in different subfamilies. The relationships within the subfamily Lacertinae could not be resolved with the markers used. The species groups of the collective genus Lacerta show a bush-like topology in the inferred Bayesian tree, suggesting rapid radiation. The composition of the subfamilies Eremiainae and Lacertinae as well as their phylogeography are discussed.

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Aim Body size is instrumental in influencing animal physiology, morphology, ecology and evolution, as well as extinction risk. I examine several hypotheses regarding the influence of body size on lizard evolution and extinction risk, assessing whether body size influences, or is influenced by, species richness, herbivory, island dwelling and extinction risk. Location World-wide. Methods I used literature data and measurements of museum and live specimens to estimate lizard body size distributions. Results I obtained body size data for 99% of the world`s lizard species. The body size–frequency distribution is highly modal and right skewed and similar distributions characterize most lizard families and lizard assemblages across biogeographical realms. There is a strong negative correlation between mean body size within families and species richness. Herbivorous lizards are larger than omnivorous and carnivorous ones, and aquatic lizards are larger than non-aquatic species. Diurnal activity is associated with small body size. Insular lizards tend towards both extremes of the size spectrum. Extinction risk increases with body size of species for which risk has been assessed. Main conclusions Small size seems to promote fast diversification of disparate body plans. The absence of mammalian predators allows insular lizards to attain larger body sizes by means of release from predation and allows them to evolve into the top predator niche. Island living also promotes a high frequency of herbivory, which is also associated with large size. Aquatic and nocturnal lizards probably evolve large size because of thermal constraints. The association between large size and high extinction risk, however, probably reflects a bias in the species in which risk has been studied.

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Philochortus zolii is a globally endangered lizard known only from five localities scattered across North Africa. The population is thought to be decreasing, but there are almost no data about this Sahara-Sahel endemic lizard. Recently, a sixth population was found in Mauritania, at the coastal peripheral zone of the Diawling National Park, which constitutes a remarkable opportunity to gather ecological information for the first time and to plan conservation actions. Here we assess the P. zolii regional distribution in Mauritania, estimate population abundance, analyse the species activity patterns, characterise the occupied habitats, assess local threats, evaluate the national conservation status, and define an action plan for the local conservation of the species. P. zolii is locally rare and exhibits a much-localised distribution, but additional sampling is needed in other humid areas to fill out the knowledge gap on global distribution. The activity period is very restricted, limited to the central hours of the day, with low detectability and high specialisation in habitat use. The species is evaluated as Critically Endangered at the national level and is threatened by industrial and agriculture developments. These activities have degraded the suitable available habitats and hamper any dispersal possibility. Extreme climatic events related with sea-level rise could decimate the entire Mauritanian population. Any pet trade that may be stimulated by the current discovery should be carefully supervised and monitored. The discovery of this isolated population justifies that coastal habitats should be designated as integral protection zone and included inside the Diawling National Park.

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Latastia taylori spec. nov. (fig. 4) Latastia boscai (part) Parker, 1932, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 355 (specs, e-m). Holotype a male, number 1931.7.20.337, in the British Museum, from the Buran Valley, 2500 ft. (10°20`N x 49°E); collected by Capt. R. H. R. Taylor, 17.X.1929. Head flat, depressed, once and three quarters as long as broad, its depth a little less than the distance between the tip of the snout and the anterior corner of the eye, and its length contained 4.25 times in the length from snout to vent. Nostril pierced between four shields; upper nasals forming a suture half the length of the fronto-nasal which is a little broader than long and broader than the internarial space; prefrontals forming a median suture shorter than that between the nasals; frontal not grooved, a little longer than its distance from the rostral, once and two thirds as long as broad; interparietal not quite twice as long as broad, in contact with an occipital half its length; 4 supraoculars, the first divided into two, second and third large and subequal, fourth very small; a row of granules separating the supra- oculars from the 5 supraciliaries. Lower eyelid scaly, translucent. Rostral not entering the nostril ; two superposed post-nasals, the lower in contact with the first and second labials ; anterior loreal half as long as the second; five or six labials anterior to the subocular, which is much narrowed on the lip and separated by two scales from the pos- terior loreal ; lateral edge of the parietal bordered by 3 elongate, narrow scales, of which the anterior is much the longest; anterior margin of the ear bordered by 3 or 4 scales of which the uppermost is the largest. Four pairs of chin-shields, the first 3 in contact and the last the largest; 31 gular scales between the chin-shields and the collar which has about nine scales on its edge, the median very large and the laterals grading into the granules of the neck. Dorsal scales oval, or subhexagonal, flat and smooth, in 39 series across the middle of the body and in 105 series between the occipital and the base of the tail (vertically over the vent) ; twenty-two in a transverse series between the hind limbs. Ven- trals in six longitudinal series, with straight posterior borders, the two median series much narrower than the others; no group of small pec- torals; twenty-five transverse series of ventrals; one very large preanal bordering the vent, preceded by another, but much smaller, shield. A series of enlarged plates beneath the fore-arm; upper tibial scales small, imbricate, keeled; ten or eleven femoral pores on each side; sub- digital lamellae strongly bicarinate 26 beneath the fourth toe. Caudal scales in equal whorls, oblique and strongly keeled above, smooth be- neath. Tip of the fourth toe reaching to midway between the arm and the ear. Pale reddish brown above and on the tail, faintly marbled with grey anteriorly and on the head; flanks anteriorly and side of the neck with very irregular brown and greyish-white vertical marblings. Lower sur- faces uniform white. Length from snout to vent 43 mm. Fore-limb 13 mm. Hind-limb 26 mm. Tail (regenerated in part) 87 mm. The following specimens are paratypes of this species: 1931.7.20.339 9 2000 ft. 10°15`N x 49°E 13.1.1930 1931.7.20.338 9 20 ft. 11°14`N x 49°E 3.XII.1929 1931.7.20.340-342 3 & & 2000 ft. 9°40`N x 49°E [Ex. Field Mus.j 8.II.1930 19317.20.335-336 d 9 3100-3300 ft. 10°13`N x 48°46`E 8.1.1930 This series shows the following variations from the holotype: The head may be once and two thirds as long as broad, and its depth equal to the distance from the snout to the eye; supraciliaries 5 to 7; one or two scales between the posterior loreal and the subocular; 5 or 6 labials anterior to the subocular; dorsals in 36 to 41 series across the middle of the body; ventrals in 23 to 26 transverse series; gular scales 28 to 32; plates in the collar 5 to 7; femoral pores 9 to 12; subdigital lamellae beneath the fourth toes 24 to 27. The fourth toe extends to some point between the shoulder and the middle of the neck. The colour is usually olive, almost uniform, but with traces of lighter marblings anteriorly and on the sides of the neck and anterior part of the flanks, the latter having a tendency towards the formation of verti- cal bars. The subcaudal scales are smooth proximally, but keeled dis- tally and an unregenerated tail is a little more than twice as long as the distance from snout to vent. These specimens were originally believed to be all immature, but a female of 42 mm. from snout to vent is pregnant and the species ap- pears to be consistently smaller than boscai. It is closely allied to the latter but may be distinguished by its broader, natter dorsal scales, the absence of a frontal groove and different colour; it appears to be restricted to the north-eastern districts of Somaliland from the Sol Haud to the coast, an area close to that in which the strongly striped L. boscai burii also occurs (fig. 4).

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Algeria is situated at the crossroads between Europe and Africa. The northern part of the country is listed as an area of high biodiversity. Currently, the ecosystems (rivers, lakes, deserts, forests etc.) and the species are under more pressure than ever. The impact of humans is significant and many factors constitute a strong threat to this fauna, especially reptiles, which are the most vulnerable because of their low mobility. Thus, pollution, the drying up of wetlands and their conversion to agriculture have clearly affected the existence of many species. The herpetofauna of Algeria is one of the most diversified in the Mediterranean Basin, consisting of 104 species of which 16.98% are endemic. We suppose that the present list of reptilian fauna provided in this paper is not exhaustive and it is expected to include more species given the lack of research on reptiles in Algeria and its large area. Our dataset contains information on reptile occurrences in Algeria. The dataset is based on original research by the staff of the Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Agroecology of Chadli Bendjedid University in Algeria. The conservation status of all recorded species is given.

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While the stability of sex chromosomes is widely accepted in viviparous mammals and birds, ectothermic vertebrates are still largely viewed as having frequent turnovers in sex determining systems. Frequent changes in sex determining systems in ectotherms could be problematic for field ecological studies as well as for breeding programs, as molecular sexing across a phylogenetically widespread spectrum of ectothermic vertebrates would not be possible. However, we recently documented that sex determining systems in three important reptile lineages (caenophidian snakes, iguanas, and lacertid lizards) are in fact highly conserved. 2.We applied a new molecular procedure to identify sex within each of these three lineages (encompassing altogether around 4,000 species, i.e. nearly 50% of the recent species of reptiles). This technique uses quantitative PCR (qPCR) to compare copy numbers of genes specific for their respective Z (in caenophidian snakes and lacertids) and X (in iguanas) chromosomes between male and female genomes. The DNA samples required can be collected relatively non-invasively. Unlike molecular sexing based on repetitive elements, this technique can be easily applied to previously unstudied species of these lineages, as the number of copies of protein coding genes linked to the differentiated sex chromosomes is evolutionary highly conserved in each. 3.We suggest that qPCR-based molecular sexing using the comparison of gene copy number is a practical choice for non-model species of caenophidian snakes, iguanas and lacertids. Morever, it should also soon be available for other reptile lineages with differentiated sex chromosomes.

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Evaluating flagship species and their potential for biological preservation and ecotourism development is a key issue for many audiences within the conservation and social fields. Despite several methods available to identify flagships, their application is often constrained in remote, poorly studied regions. Developments are needed in statistical and spatially-explicit approaches to assess species` traits influencing flagship appealing, to identify flagship fleets, and to map the location of flagship hotspots. Here, we developed a new method to identify flagship species in regions with knowledge gaps, using a two-stage statistical approach (ordination and clus- tering algorithms) to assess variable`s contribution to appealing and to group species sharing similar char- acteristics into flagship fleets. We then mapped areas concentrating the highest richness of flagships. Unique morphologies and behaviours, conservation status, endemicity, body size and weight, and feeding habits were the traits contributing the most to the flagship appealing. Nine flagship fleets were identified, from which two were the most suitable for conservation marketing and ecotourism promotion campaigns in Sahara-Sahel: Fleet A comprising 36 large-bodied species (18 mammals, 18 reptiles) and Fleet B including 70 small-bodied species (10 birds, six mammals, 54 reptiles). A total of 19 and 16 hotspots were identified for large-bodied and small-bodied flagships, respectively. The methodology was suitable to identify flagship species for conservation marketing and for developing ecotourism operations in the Sahara-Sahel, to independently assess which species` traits are re- levant for flagship appealing, and to organise fleets for multispecies-based marketing campaigns. The framework is scalable and replicable worldwide.

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This book shows a comprehensive picture of the reptiles, excluding snakes, living in Europe, North Africa, Middle and Near East and Central Asia. The bulk of the book is an annotated checklist and a distributional atlas of approx 500 species of lizards, crocodiles, turtles and terrapins, and amphisbaenians, living in the Western Palearctic. Information on distribution, subspecies, chorotype and main references are provided for each species, as well as 226 colour maps showing the global distribution of the species on a grid of one degree. For each species map the bibliographic and original sources (more than 850 sources are listed) are indicated. A further 83 maps show the distribution of all genera and main species groups of Palearctic reptiles. Beside the checklist and the atlas, in some additional chapters the following arguments are treated: Materials and methods; status of knowledge on the Palearctic fauna; composition of the Western Palearctic reptile fauna (including a statement on biodiversity and species richness); descriptive biogeography (including a discussion on the Palearctic region boundaries based on reptile distribution and the herpeto-geographic sectors of the Western Palearctic); conservation status. A list of more than 730 references quoted in the text and high quality colour plates including photos of the most of the supraspecific taxa living in the study area completes the book.

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Aim: Deserts are generally perceived as areas of low diversity, and hence receive little attention from researchers and conservationists. Squamates are the dominant group of vertebrates in arid regions, and as such represent an ideal model to study biodiversity patterns in these areas. We examine spatial patterns of diversity, evolutionary history and endemism of terrestrial squamates of the Arabian Peninsula and test hypotheses on the role of topography and history of isolation so as to identify possible environmental drivers of diversification. Location: The Arabian Peninsula. Taxon: Squamate reptiles (Squamata; lizards and snakes). Methods: We generated distribution maps for all Arabian squamate species (including yet undescribed) and reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships using existing and newly produced genetic data for nearly all the species. We assessed patterns of the distribution of species richness, phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic en demism across the peninsula to identify areas that could be considered evolutionary or endemicity hotspots for squamates. We evaluated community turnover across the peninsula and assessed the possible environmental drivers affecting the diversity of Arabian squamates in a regression framework. Results: The main hotspots of Arabian squamate diversity are mostly along the mountains that rim the peninsula while the most arid, central regions support a low diversity of species. The distribution of the phylogenetic diversity mirrors that of the species richness. Phylogenetic endemism is also highest in the mountains, especially when only endemic species are analysed. The deserts of northern Arabia are poor in terms of species richness and they show low connectivity to the peninsular communities. Topographic heterogeneity is the strongest predictor for Arabian squamates, followed by elevation. There is no correlation between richness and temperature. Main conclusions: The mountains of Arabia support rich and unique squamate communities that are dominated by local radiations of closely related and narrow-ranging species. In particular, the Asir Mountains of SW Arabia, Dhofar Province of Oman and the Hajar Mountains of northern Oman and UAE show unprecedented levels of squamate endemism and phylogenetic endemism. While many generalist species range across Arabia, a low number of species is shared between the peninsula and mainland Asia, indicating an effective isolation of the Arabian fauna. Squamate richness is highest in heterogeneous, topographically complex habitats.

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This checklist records the 99 species of lizards known at present from Kenya, and which are divided amongst eight families: Gekkonidae 33 species, Agamidae seven, Chamaeleonidae 17, Scincidae 22, Lacertidae 12, Cordylidae five, Varanidae two, Amphisbaenidae one. Brief data on the distribution of all species is given, with some localities, details of habitat and (in some cases) status of subspecies. Some taxonomic notes on certain problematic species/genera are included, plus a brief discussion of the zoogeography of Kenya`s lizards, and a gazetteer of localities.

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The staggering phenotypic variation among organisms and the striking fit between an organism`s morphology and its environment have fascinated naturalists for centuries. Darwin`s publication of `On the origin of species` was the first to offer an explanation for the apparently perfect form-function relationship. During the past century overly enthousiastic evolutionary biologists interpreted any direct link between an organism`s morphology and ecology as evidence for the theory of evolution by natural selection. However, for morphological variation to be considered adaptive it is necessary to explicitly test how this variation translates into the variation in ecologically relevant performance traits, which in turn translates into ecological (and fitness) variation. Nowadays, performance- based ecomorphological approaches are typically used to test the adaptive nature of phenotypic variation in order to provide a better understanding of the selective pressures operating on organisms. Using an ecomorphological approach, lacertid lizards have been used extensively to test whether and how they are adapted to their environment. The majority of these studies have mainly included European species, leaving African species underrepresented. This is suprising from an evolutionary viewpoint. Compared to European lacertids, African lacertid lizard clades are older and more speciose. Also, lacertid lizard communities on the African continent are more complex than the ones in Europe (i.e. comprising 7-8 species versus 2-3 species). In this talk, we will focus on the phenotypic divergence among African clades and the link with the variation in performance and ecology, and explicitly compare these results to results on European lacertids.