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In order to collect information about the popular beliefs regarding amphibians and reptiles, some people from different villages in all the regions of Albacete (Castilla-La Mancha) were interviewed. Subsequently, several hypotheses have been put forward in order to explain in some way these beliefs, those of which are in their majority due to religious superstitions, mistakes of perception, or the credibility given to oral tradition so long ago.

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Recent studies have reported declines in lizard populations associated with local warming trends and alteration of thermal niches. These studies suggest that there are some key physiological and behavioural parameters that determine the sensitivity of each species to the local context of global warming. The Atlas Dwarf Lizard, Atlantolacerta andreanskyi, is a small lacertid lizard endemic to the High Atlas Mountains (2200–3500 m a.s.l.) of Morocco. Its populations display a disjointed distribution across 440 km, consisting of phylogenetic lineages separated since the Miocene, suggesting a mor- phologically cryptic species complex. To establish whether this deeply rooted evolutionary divergence has promoted shifts in fundamental niche occupancy, but also whether there is any ecophysiological plasticity, preferred body temperatures (Tpref) and evaporative water loss (EWL) were examined in populations of the central and western High Atlas. Our results revealed no differences in Tpref across populations, but lower thermal preferences in (gravid) females. In contrast, EWL varied between populations, but not between sexes. In both cases, sexual patterns remained similar between populations, and differences were not evident between body sizes. Importantly, Tpref and EWL traded off, even if with a common trend across populations. These results suggest that ecophysiology remains mostly conservative within this species complex and that hydric ecology, which is more closely associated with body size, is more flexible than thermal ecology. The increase of lizard body size with altitude, in agreement with life history trends with seasonality observed in other Mountain Lizards, cannot be interpreted in terms of ecophysiological adaptation since the low-altitude populations of small lizards are the ones most exposed to dehydration. Rather, local environment and possibly aspects of evolutionary history could be in- volved. Overall, the ecophysiological conservativeness of this endemic species confirms its vulnerability to climate change, and indicates that hydric ecology needs to be incorporated into general models regarding how behavioural plasticity may mediate resilience to such changes. In this context, the low-altitude populations are the most vulnerable ones, and local management measures should focus on the conservation of vegetation and water bodies.

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The previous knowledge on the distribution of the herpetofauna of the Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park dates back to the early 90s. After just over a decade the Park has reproposed a herpetofaunistic study in order to update the checklist and the distribution framework of the amphibians and reptiles of the Park and neighboring territory. The study area is located eastern of the Trento province, includes the territory of the Park and a large pre-park area involving a total of 11 municipalities in the province of Trento and 2 in Belluno. The study was carried out in the period 2015-2017 using standard methods for census: Visual Encounter Survey (VES), active research under potential shelters, dip netting, call survey, egg survey, search for dead individuals and exuvie of reptiles. The project also included the collection of signallings from occasional surveyors and herpetological data collected from the open source faunistic platform iNaturalist. A total of 582 data were collected (63.7% on amphibians, 36.3% on reptiles), 40.4% within the Park with a clear prevalence for amphibians (27.7% vs 12.8% reptiles). The updated checklist of the Herpetofauna of the Park and surrounding areas includes Salamandra atra, Salamandra salamandra, Ichthyosaura alpestris, Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria, Anguis veronensis/ A. fragilis, Lacerta bilineata, Podarcis muralis, Zootoca vivipara, Coronella austriaca, Natrix natrix, N. tessellata, Vipera aspis, V. berus. Compared to previous research, in addition to reconfirming historical data, the distribution framework of different species has been enriched with new locations of presence and addition of N. tessellata. For S. atra the exclusive presence in the eastern sectors of the Park was confirmed, with a significant increase in the number of 1x1 km cells. Moreover, the lithological structure of ist habitats was almost exclusively of the carbonatic type. By comparing the distributions of S. atra and S. salamandra in the study area it was also evident how the two species are parapatric. Similarly, Podarcis muralis is limited to the southernmost part of the study area, in out-of-park areas and mainly in the valley bottom or in well-exposed slopes and shows a clear distribution differentiation with Z. vivipara with the two species vicarious even in the common altitudinal zone. Generally, no significant decline situations were found for the most widespread species. While for the rarer ones there were three different situations: probable disappearance of the species (eg Bombina variegata), scarcity of data likely due to research defect (eg Lacerta bilineata) or elusiveness of some species (eg Coronella austriaca), actual rarity in the study area (Natrix tessellata).

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1. Age at reproduction can influence the survival and future reproduction of an individual as well as that of their offspring. Remarkably, it has been shown that grandmaternal age at reproduction can also affect the characteristics of grandoffspring in humans and in laboratory or semi-captive animals. However, currently we do not know whether grandmaternal age effects exist in wild populations. 2. We gathered data on female age at reproduction, offspring and grandoffspring characteristics using a 16-year long-term survey of a natural population of the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara. The dataset contains 579 grandoffspring from 135 litters. 3. Body size at birth was not correlated with grandmaternal age at reproduction. However, grandoffspring body condition at birth, grandoffspring survival and reproductive performance of granddaughters were dependent on grandmaternal age. These relationships were independent of maternal age. 4. An age-structured model showed that the global effect of grandmaternal age was non linear and was largely driven by its effect on grandoffspring survival. Fitness was higher for granddaughters produced by grandmothers of intermediate ages. 5. The study shows that age can shape life-history traits for more than one generation, documenting the importance that grandmaternal age can have in wild populations.

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Background: In lacertid lizards from Mediterranean islands, frugivory is common, particularly under prey scarcity, a characteristic of small islands. In several populations, the diet of the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi, is extremely variable and includes fleshy fruits. However, frugivory is sporadic and there are very few examples of dominant fruit consumption. Results: We describe the existence of an extraordinary fruit consumption of a single plant species, the juniper, Juniperus phoenicea, by the Balearic lizard, P. lilfordi. In addition, for the first time in Lacertidae, we describe the exist‐ ence of scat piling in the population of these lizards inhabiting Cabrera Island (Balearic Islands, Spain). Scat piling was detected in an isolated location with hundreds of scats deposited by several individuals at a particular place. Conclusions: The high population density of lizards at the island of Cabrera and the great versatility of foraging behavior of this species allows us to hypothesize that scat piles could act as an attractor for numerous individuals, that is, as inadvertent social information. If that hypothesis is correct, it would result in the concentration of several indi‐ viduals foraging on a single or a few ripening plants. We cannot, however, rule out that individuals concentrated due to the scarcity of ripening plants in other areas, without any influence of the presence of several lizards, as attractors to the site. Our findings modify previous descriptions of the diet of the Balearic lizard in Cabrera made with smaller samples. In some places and periods of the year, frugivory on a single plant species can be extremely intense and only large sample sizes of scats allow to find these particular trends in the foraging ecology of insular lizards.

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Most lacertid lizards bear specialized epidermal glands in the cloacal region, which produce waxy secretions used in intraspecific chemical communication. These secretions are made of a variable mixture of lipids and proteins. While the former has been already proved to convey information about quality and condition of the emitter, the role of the latter has been poorly investigated. Among the hypothesized functions, proteins can carry information about individual identity, which is assumed a prerequisite for such a social communication system to work. We tested this hypothesis on Podarcis muralis using behavioural trials in a neutral arena. We extracted the protein fraction of the femoral gland secretions by solubilizing them in 1500 μL phosphate buffered saline (PBS). We prepared the substrate for the test by dropping 50 μL of the solution on each central point of a regularly gridded blotting paper sheet. After putting the sheet on the arena floor, a lizard was placed in the middle, where no drops were on, under a removable refuge. After 5 minutes of acclimatization, we removed the refuge and recorded lizard movements for 15 minutes starting from the first tongue flicking. We considered only adult males and each lizard was tested three times with three different substrates obtained using PBS solution: i) alone, i.e., without proteins inside (CTRL); ii) with proteins from the tested lizard (SELF); iii) with proteins from a never-met donor (N-SELF). The presentation order was randomized and subsequent trials were done at 24 hours distance. Lizard trajectories were automatically extracted using idTracker. Trajectory points were classified according to the sign of the residuals of the RST analysis (Residence in Time and Space analysis): negative residuals indicate a time-intensive behaviour while positive residuals indicate both time and space intensive behaviour. The proportion of positive residuals (PPR) was used as the response variable and interpreted as a restlessness proxy. We tested the substrate effect on the response by fitting a linear model with random intercept on the individual, substrate as a three level factor, and lizard body temperature and trial order as control variables, using a Bayesian estimate of model parameters. PPR showed no dependence from trial order (βtrial = -0.015 ± 0.023; Pβ<0 = 0.75), while temperature had a slight positive effect (βtemp = 0.017 ± 0.012; Pβ>0 = 0.93). PPR was increased by N-SELF treatment (βN-SELF = 0.124 ± 0.043; Pβ>0 = 1.00), while SELF showed a less probable positive effect (βSELF = 0.041± 0.044; Pβ>0 = 0.83). The probability that N-SELF PPR (0.614 ± 0.035) is higher than those of CTRL (0.490 ± 0.035) and SELF (0.531 ± 0.035) exceeds 0.95. Male common wall lizards responded differently to the protein content coming from a conspecific individual compared to a non-protein stimulus and to their own chemicals. Hence, they are able to detect proteins and they could use them to transfer identity related information.

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The preliminary distribution of amphibians and reptiles of the Ciudad Real province (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) is presented. Thirty-four species, 13 amphibians and 21 reptiles, have been found. For each species, distribution maps in 10 x 10 Km U.T.M. quadrats and a discussion on the distribution, habitat and threats affecting its conservation are provided. We conclude that the Ciudad Real province presents one of the richest herpetofauna of the Iberian Peninsula, despite the scarcity of Eurosiberian species. Among all the species present in Ciudad Real, the relative abundance of Emys orbicularis populations is especially relevant compared to the rest of Spain. Similarly, it is remarkable the presence of a newly discovered population of Hemidactylus turcicus in Castilla-La Mancha, which represents one of the most inland populations of this species in the Iberian Peninsula.

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Isolating the effects of single releasers in animal communication is difficult because a releaser is often made by a combination of different key stimuli. Territorial communication in reptiles depends on visual, chemical and acoustic stimuli, but their role depends on phylogeny. Lacertids are modern lizards that rely mainly on chemical cues for their communication, even if they also use aggressive displays based on visual recognition. We experimentally tested the visual stimuli that release an aggressive response in males of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), testing the effects of silicone models and mirrored images in captivity. The response to models and control (a blank sheet) was not significantly different and these stimuli did not release any aggressive behaviour, whereas the reflected image in a mirror caused an overt aggression in 63% of tested individuals. The results clearly demonstrate the fundamental role of visual stimuli in territorial communication, but only as a combined effect of shape and motion, differently from other lizard families for which shape is sufficient to stimulate aggressive responses. Mirrors can be useful tools to investigate aggression related to physiological and morphological aspects in lacertid lizards.

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El Consell Insular d’Eivissa va iniciar a 2014 un programa pilot per avaluar la distribució, l’estat de les poblacions, conèixer aspectes sobre la seva biologia i controlar les poblacions d’ofidis a Eivissa. Les dades preliminars indiquen que dos espècies introduïdes a l’illa d’Eivissa estan naturalitzades i que són abundants a l’entorn de Santa Eulària des Riu, Sant Llorenç de Balàfia i Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera; predomina Hemorrhois hippocrepis i és més escassa Rhinechis scalaris; tanmateix, no hi ha dades de Malpolon monspessulanus des de 2010. Les dos espècies presents en l’actualitat realitzen festejos i còpules al mateix període que a les regions on són natives. Almenys H. hippocrepis realitza postes amb ous viables. La presència de nadons de les dos espècies en dates d’eclosió per la Península Ibèrica pareix constatar la reproducció efectiva. Almenys en H. hippocrepis, s’ha constatat la predació sobre Podarcis pityusensis. Des de la seua introducció en 2003, H. hippocrepis ha mostrat una resposta funcional cap al gigantisme, amb exemplars que mostraven el 213% de la biomassa màxima registrada a la seua àrea nativa de la península Ibèrica. La utilització de trampes pareix efectiva, sempre que el seu número sigui elevat. L’elecció del tipus de trampa, esquer i lloc de col·locació condiciona els resultats obtinguts. Tanmateix, la continuïtat d’aquest estudi al llarg de l’any 2015 es fa imprescindible per augmentar la mida de mostra. El proper any es pretén la utilització de nous mètodes de captura i especialment, la col·locació d’un major número de trampes tipus caixa.

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Balearic herpetofauna represents a paradigmatic case of multiple bio- logical invasions within the Mediterranean Basin, with a much higher number of alien amphibians (i.e. frogs and toads) and reptiles (i.e. lizards, snakes and turtles/ tortoises) than native. The paleogeography of the Balearic Islands, located on Western Mediterranean between Spain and Sardinia, is complex, comprehending an ancient split from the continent during the late Miocene and Pleistocene climatic fluctuations connecting and disconnecting islands from one another (but not them to the continent) that eventually re-shaped the archipelago’s biota. The archipelago has been also influenced by humans since the Neolithic, being a cross-road for alien biota between North Africa and Southern Europe, which caused range regressions and extinctions in the native herpetofauna, nowadays restricted to one amphibian and two reptiles. During the last century, tourism development, the pet trade, and cargo transport of ornamental plants have produced a new wave of biological invasions. Recently introduced snakes are of particular concern, since the effect of predation may seriously threaten the remaining native reptiles in the main islands and endemic subspecies in surrounding islets. Balearic people have a negative social perception of such snakes, mainly due to the lack of familiarity with snakes among islanders but also to the herpetophobic attitude of many Mediterranean cultures. Here we review the herpetological invasions in the Balearic Archipelago and their impacts. We further discuss the on-going management actions on alien reptiles in this archipelago, namely the control of invasive snakes in Ibiza involving monitoring, trapping, environmental education and promotion of social participation.

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Knowing the causes of biological invasion success can be relevant to combat future invasive processes. The recent invasion of the horseshoe whip snake Hemorrhois hippocrepis on the island of Ibiza provides the opportunity to compare natural history traits between invasive and source populations, and to unravel what makes this snake a successful invader that is threatening the only endemic vertebrate of the island, Podarcis pityusensis. This study compares the basic reproductive traits of mainland native and invasive populations of the snake. Our results revealed that invasive populations were characterized by female maturity at a smaller size, extended reproductive period, and much lower reproduction frequency compared to the native population. In contrast, some major reproductive traits-the abdominal fat body cycle, clutch size, hatchling body size, and hatchling body condition, did not differ between the two populations. Some of these results must reflect the environmental differences in the recently invaded island with respect to the source area, and overall plasticity of reproductive traits. Plasticity is evolutionarily interesting, and may aid the successful growth of this species in their invasiveness of Mediterranean islands like Ibiza. The most significant finding is that this expression of phenotypic plasticity occurred rapidly in this invasive population, within a period of 14 years maximum. Our results on the reproduction ecology of the invasive population were not conclusive regarding the factors determining the invasiveness of the snake and pointed to alternative causes.

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We genotyped multiple populations of all seven parthenogenetic species of rock lizards, genus Darevskia, as well as their putative sexual parental populations, using double digest RAD sequencing genomic markers. Taking advantage of the conserved homology of the ZW/ZZ sex chromosomes among lacertid lizards, we aligned our short sequence reads to a reference Z chromosome assembly of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis. This provided unique insight into the origin of all-female hybrid populations, which inherited their single Z chromosome exclusively from a paternal ancestor. The mapped Z-linked loci were used to construct a robust time-calibrated phylogeny. In each parent–offspring species pair, the geographically nearest population of the paternal species was identified as the most likely ancestor of the respective parthenogen, mirroring the trend observed previously on the maternal side in mitochondrial DNA. The estimated splits between the sampled paternal sexual ancestors and their daughter species occurred much earlier than suggested previously and during two narrow time periods: (1) the parthenogenetic Darevskia armeniaca, D. dahli, D. uzzelli and D. rostombekowi dated back to ~0.5 or ~0.9 Mya, depending on the calibration point used, while (2) D. bendimahiensis, D. sapphirina and D. unisexualis appear to have diverged ~1 or ~2 Mya.

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The ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) exhibits an intricate skin color pattern made of monoc-hromatic black and green skin scales, whose dynamics of color flipping are known to be well modeled by a stochastic cellular automaton. We show that the late-time probability distribution of the pattern corresponds to the canonical probability distribution of the antiferromagnetic Ising model and can be generated by dynamics different from the commonly-used Glauber. We comment on skin scale patterns generated by the Ising model on the triangular lattice in the low-temperature limit.

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Gut microbial communities provide essential functions to their hosts and are known to influence both their ecology and evolution. However, our knowledge of these complex associations is still very limited in reptiles. Here we report the 16S rRNA gene faecal microbiota profiles of two lizard species endemic to the Balearic archipelago (Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis), encompassing their allopatric range of distribution through a noninvasive sampling, as an alternative to previ- ous studies that implied killing specimens of these IUCN endangered and near-threatened species, respectively. Both lizard species showed a faecal microbiome composition consistent with their omnivorous trophic ecology, with a high representa- tion of cellulolytic bacteria taxa. We also identified species-specific core microbiota signatures and retrieved lizard species, islet ascription, and seasonality as the main factors in explaining bacterial community composition. The different Balearic Podarcis populations are characterised by harbouring a high proportion of unique bacterial taxa, thus reinforcing their view as unique and divergent evolutionary entities.

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We provide some data on the life of Hermann Josef (alias Jost H.) Jokisch, a german who lived for ca. ten years on the Balearic island of Ibiza where he collected lizards for the Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn. Apart from the archive of this museum, details about his hardly known life became apparent only through some German- speaking writers who had met and visited him on this island and partly integrated him as a literary figure into their writings.

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Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy 3Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, University Grenoble Alpes, University Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble, France 4Kosmos – Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy 5Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy 6I.P.L.A., Istituto per le Piante da Legno e l`Ambiente, Torino, Italy Correspondence Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20126 Milano, Italy. Email: francesco.ficetola@gmail.com Funding information Italian Ministry for Research, Grant/Award Number: 2017KLZ3MA Editor: Ana Margarida Coelho dos Santos Abstract Aim: Analyses of biogeographical patterns and macroecology of islands require large datasets reporting the occurrence of species. The Mediterranean region is a biodiver- sity hotspot, which hosts a large number of reptile species and has been the focus of many studies. Nevertheless, comprehensive inventories describing the features and biodiversity of these environments are lacking. We gathered a dataset summarizing data on reptile distribution on islands of the Mediterranean basin and Macaronesia, also including detailed information on the geographical features. Location: Islands from the Mediterranean Basin, the Atlantic Ocean within the Mediterranean biogeographical region, and Macaronesia (Canary and Savage Islands, Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde). Time period: Present. Taxon: Reptiles (squamates and turtles). Methods: Initially, we developed a geographical database describing islands of the study region, then gathered information on reptile occurrences from 757 bibliograph- ical sources, including atlases, published papers and the grey literature. Through a critical review of these sources, we also obtained information on the status of popula- tions (native, island endemic or non-native) and on the reliability of occurrence data. Results: We obtained basic geographical information from 1875 islands covering the whole study region and with a very broad range of geographical features. We gath- ered >4150 records of reptile occurrence on islands, referring to 198 taxonomic units (species or species complexes); information on population status was available for 84.9% of records. Data are provided as comma-delimited text files. Main conclusions: The database provides a key resource for biogeographical analyses and can also serve as a backbone for conservation studies. The availability of a large database on island features can also be useful for biogeographers working on other taxonomic groups. Nevertheless, more data are required for some geographical areas, in order to ascertain the status (e.g., native vs. non-native) of many populations and to understand the interplay between natural and human-driven processes.

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Genomic divergence was studied in 10 small insular populations of the endangered Balearic Islands lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) using double digest restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing. The objectives were to establish levels of divergence among populations, investigate the impact of population size on genetic variability and to evaluate the role of different environmental factors on local adaptation. Analyses of 72,846 SNPs supported a highly differentiated genetic structure, being the populations with the lowest population size (Porros, Foradada and Esclatasang islets) the most divergent, indicative of greater genetic drift. Outlier tests identified ~ 2% of loci as candidates for selection. Genomic divergence‐Enviroment Association analyses were performed using redundancy analyses based on SNPs putatively under selection, detecting predation and human pressure as the environmental variables with the greatest explanatory power. Geographical distributions of populations and environmental factors appear to be fundamental drivers of divergence. These results support the combined role of genetic drift and divergent selection in shaping the genetic structure of these endemic island lizard populations.

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Feeding spectrum of Lacertids has been widely studied in different geographical areas, continental, insular and microinsular. Data are particularly informative and show a trophic spectrum mainly characterized by arthropods (mainly insercts), but also by other taxa. Even if lesser represented, terrestrial Isopods (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) have been recorded. Armadillo officinalis has a stridulatory apparatus and it is able to produce micro-vibrations, whose meaning and/or the biological functions are still not understood (decrease of predation?). Other species of the group do not produce vibrations. In Podarcis muralis and Podarcis siculus diet Isopods remains have been recorded, despite the taxonomic identity has not yet been determined. We considered two lizards samples, to check average size of the two species. As expected Podarcis muralis is smaller in size than Podarcis siculus (tSVL = -4.096; 51 df; P < 0.0001; tbmass = -4.194; 44 df; P < 0.0001). We offered, randomly, three prey types, i) Tenebrio molitor larvae, or ii) Armadillidium granulatum adults or iii) Armadillo officinalis adults. Each individual lizard has been tested once only. Tenebrio has been preyed 14/14 times; A. granulatum 10/14, A. officinalis 2/14 (χ2 = 22.615; 2 df; P < 0.0001). General Linear Model analyses show no predation effect due to the lizard species (P = 0.084), no size effect (svl-body mass) (P = 0.329) nor in the Podarcis species×Podarcis size interaction. On the contrary, there is a strong effect of the prey type×lizard size interaction (P < 0.0001), where the vibrating Isopod is on average discarded. However, we should verify in the future if the exclusion of the vibrating species is actually a simple effect of the larger size of A. officinalis with respect to A. granulatum, or a direct consequence of the vibrating feature of the Crustacean.

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The melanic forms of Ibiza Wall Lizard (Podarcis pityusensis) inhabit the old- est islets: ses Bledes, sa Margalida and Murada. There are melanic popula- tions on two Pitiusa islets where we would expect to find non-melanic lizards. This article offers a possible answer to this unexpected melanism.

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During the first lockdown due to COVID 19, travel was heavily restricted. The search for reptiles in the vicinity of my home resulted in the discovery of several locations of the sand lizard.

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We report about a crossbreeding experiment by the German zoologist Martin Eisentraut, who, as part of some nature experiments in 1930 with the Ibiza wall lizard Podarcis pityusensis (BOSCÁ, 1883), released specimens of two different subspecies on the small rocky island of Dau Gran off the coast of Ibiza, which had previously been free of lizards. In this way, he hoped to gain insights into the heredity and causes of insular melanism. We want to shed light on the history of the lizards of Dau Gran and discuss the results published so far as well as the assumption mady by some authors that the population has perished, and the lizards found on the island today may be of different origin. With a new study on morphology and observations on Dau Gran we would like to show that the small lizard population has survived on the tiny rocky island to the present day.

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In recent years a great deal of effort has been devoted in studying the negative consequences of climate change in reptiles. It has been shown that lizards may be particularly at risk given the current rate of temperature increase. The rise in air temperature is often associated with droughts and extreme heatwaves. Unfortunately, so far little attention has been devoted in understanding the possible consequences of water shortage on the viability of lizard natural populations. On the other hand, little is known on the response of lizards to such episodes, namely, whether variability across populations in resistance to dehydration exists is virtually unknown. Here, we focused on a generalist Mediterranean lizard, Psammodromus algirus, to study if resistance to evaporative water loss (EWL) varies across populations and if it correlates with biometric, ecological and environmental variables. The studied populations belong to the same phylogenetic lineage. We sampled, measured and tested adult individuals for EWL in standard laboratory conditions along an altitudinal gradient between Madrid city (650 m a.s.l.) and the Guadarrama mountain system (1250 m a.s.l.). Our preliminary results suggest that EWL negatively correlates with altitude, with individuals living in higher areas being the ones more resistant to dehydration. Body dimension do not increase along the altitudinal gradient. Thus, the observed variation in EWL is not explained by an increase in the volume/surface ratio. Hence, it is possible that local conditions of temperature and humidity induce patterns of local acclimation/adaptation.

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Sieben Artenkomplexe europäischer Reptilien wurden einer phylogeographischen Analyse unterzogen, wobei verschiedene molekulargenetische Methoden eingesetzt wurden. Während mitochondriale Gene (hier vor allem Cytochrom b Sequenzen) weit reichende Aussagen über die phylogeographische Differenzierungsgeschichte zuließen, war der zusätzliche Einsatz bisexuell vererbter Marker hilfreich bei der Entscheidung, welches Stadium die Speziationsprozesse bereits erreicht haben. Da Arten mit ähnlichen Verbreitungsmustern in Süd- und Mitteleuropa gewählt wurden, konnten übereinstimmende phylogeographische Verzweigungsmuster genutzt werden, einige allgemeine Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen: ● Die höchste genetische Diversität der untersuchten Artenkomplexe wird bei ihren Vertretern in Südeuropa, Kleinasien und im Kaukasus erreicht. Die Differenzierung erfolgte offenbar in den pleistozänen Refugialräumen. ● Die Speziationsprozesse sind unterschiedlich weit fortgeschritten. In einigen Fällen konnten bereits kryptische Arten erkannt werden. ● Multiple Arealretraktionen und -expansionen während der pleistozänen Klimaschwankungen sind zu postulieren und auf dem Balkan auch nachweisbar, aber in Mitteleuropa sind ihre Spuren verwischt; erst die holozäne Invasion ist dort genetisch präsent. ● Der Balkan und die Pontische Region waren Ursprungsregionen aktiver Einwanderer nach Mittel- und Nordeuropa. ● Gruppen von der Iberischen und der Apenninhalbinsel eroberten nur selten andere Regionen. Die Barrierefunktion der Pyrenäen und der Alpen dürfte hierfür verantwortlich sein.

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1. Warming temperatures caused by climate change are predicted to vary temporally and spatially. For mid- and high-latitude reptiles, the seasonal variation in warming temperatures experienced by embryos and hatchlings may determine offspring fitness, yet this has remained largely unexplored. 2. To evaluate the independent and interactive influence of seasonal variation in warming temperatures on embryonic and hatchling development, we incubated eggs and reared hatchlings of a cold-climate oviparous ectothermic species, the Heilongjiang grass lizard (Takydromus amurensis), following a 2×2 factorial design (present climate versus warming climate for embryos × present climate versus warming climate for hatchlings). We then evaluated embryonic and hatchling development, including hatching success, incubation period, initial hatchling body size, hatchling metabolic rate, growth rate and survival in the mesocosms. 3. We found that warming temperatures shortened the incubation period and produced hatchlings with higher survival rates than those incubated under the present climate conditions. Similarly, hatchlings reared under a warming climate had similar growth rates and resting metabolic rates, but higher survival rates than those reared under the present climate. Hatchlings that experienced both warming incubation and warming growth conditions had the highest survival rates. 4. This study revealed that moderate warming temperatures (Representative Concentration Pathway, RCP 4.5, 1.1–2.6°C) experienced by embryos and hatchlings interact to benefit hatchling fitness in cold-climate oviparous ectotherms. Our study also highlighted the importance of integrating seasonal variation in warming temperatures when evaluating the responses to climate warming in multiple developmental stages in oviparous ectotherms.

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Patterns in functional diversity of organisms at large spatial scales can provide insight into possible responses to future climate change, but it remains a challenge to link large-scale patterns at the population or species level to their underlying physiological mechanisms at the individual level. The climate variability hypothesis predicts that temperate ectotherms will be less vulnerable to climate warming than tropical ectotherms, due to their superior acclimatization capacity. However, metabolic acclimatization occurs over multiple levels, from the enzyme and cellular level, through organ systems, to whole-organism metabolic rate (hereafter biological hierarchy). Previous studies have focused on one or a few levels of the biological hierarchy, leaving us without a general understanding of how metabolic acclimatization might differ between tropical and temperate species. Here, we investigate thermal acclimation of three species of Takydromus lizards distributed along a broad latitudinal gradient in China, by studying metabolic modifications at the level of the whole organism, organ, mitochondria, metabolome, and proteome. As predicted by the climate variability hypothesis, the two temperate species T. septentrionalis and T. wolteri had an enhanced acclimation response at the whole organism level compared to the tropical species T. sexlineatus, as measured by respiratory gas exchange rates. However, the mechanisms by which whole organism performance was modified was strikingly different in the two temperate species: widespread T. septentrionalis modified organ sizes, while the narrowly distributed T. wolteri relied on mitochondrial, proteomic and metabolomic regulation. We suggest that these two mechanisms of thermal acclimatization may represent general strategies used by ectotherms, with distinct ecological costs and benefits. Lacking either of these mechanisms of thermal acclimatization capacity, the tropical species is likely to have increased vulnerability to climate change.

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Colour polymorphism may be accompanied by alternative expressions of phenotypic traits that are directly or indirectly related to fitness, and selection forces may act on the traits separately or concurrently. In polymorphic species, natural selection may act through frequency- or density dependent mechanisms and maintain polymorphism through interactions among morphs. We used an integrative approach to examine functionally relevant and interrelated life history traits in the context of colour polymorphism in the European wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Body, head and limb morphology, bite and locomotor performance, and physiology, particularly metabolic and antioxidant capacity, were analysed in the three pure colour morphs (yellow, orange, white) and the two mosaic morphs (yellow-orange and white-orange). Morphological differences between morphs were present but subtle and consisted mainly of variations in head length. Head size and bite force were strongly associated between and within morphs. Limb and boot morphology and locomotor performance (sprinting and climbing) were variably associated among morphs. Finally, variation in biochemical indicators of cellular metabolism and antioxidant capacity appeared to be largely independent of morphology and performance. The results provide evidence for existing and non-existing relationships between colour and morphology, performance, and physiology that could have short- and long-term effects on selection.

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The reproduction of Podarcis siculus has been studied in depth only in the `70ies, underlining all the developmental cycle of ovaries, follicles and of oocites throughout the whole seasonal cycle, clearly describing the ovulatory period. Even though P. siculus is an Italian widespread lizard, variability of its reproductive patterns, as number of clutches per season, clutch size (some anecdotal notes in the `80ies) as well as egg size, geographical and altitudinal variation in the Italian country is virtually not known. Our research has been aimed at presenting for the first time the largest available reproductive data set of P. siculus females, representative of the whole Italian distributive area and of some other localities. We have considered preserved specimens. We selected females of March-August, the known ovulation period. We analysed not only adult mature females (SVL ≥ 50 mm), but also many smaller (SVL ≥ 40 mm), and some others outside reproductive period, as outgroups. A female (RF) was considered as reproductive when at least one follicle was grey-yellow-brown in colour and larger than the other, usually whitish, undeveloped follicula. When ovary was evidently not developing, the specimen was coded as not reproductive (NRF). Eggs were of two main shapes, rounded or elongated. Rounded eggs are those developing (follicles in ovaries at the beginning of the ovulatory period and oocytes in ovaries at a late stage of vitellogenesis). Elongated eggs are oocytes in the ovarian ducts. We measured only those follicles and those oocytes that appeared not modified in size and shape. We took the diameter of rounded follicles and we took the maximum length of elongated oocytes. We discarded the maximum width of oocytes to limit any possible bias in size due to damage or other causes occurred during sampling or during fixation in alcohol. Elongated eggs were unshelled or partially shelled. No egg was completely shelled. Females did not differ in both SVL and trunk length (TRL) between continent and large islands, while RF were significantly longer than NRF, and RF and NRF were longer in large islands than in continent (reproductive status×area interaction). SVL significantly and positively increased from West to East (ρlongitude = 0.199, P < 0.0001, n = 645) and from North to South (ρlatitude = -0.327, P < 0.0001, n = 645). Clutch size averaged 4.4 ± 1.6 eggs (1-11). Both SVL and TRL positively correlated with clutch size (rSVL = 0.557, P < 0.0001, n = 619; rTRL = 0.559, P < 0.0001, n=619; Pearson correlation). Clutch size with rounded eggs was significantly different among geographical basins (Z = 22.317; d.f. = 3; P < 0.0001), while clutch size of elongated eggs did not vary among geographical basins (Z = 3.951; d.f. = 3; P = 0.267).

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Long-term maintenance of colour polymorphisms often depends on the interplay of multiple selective forces. In the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), up to three pure and two mosaic ventral colour morphs co-exist across most of its range. Available evidence suggests that colour morphs in this species are maintained through the interaction between sexual and environment-dependent selection. In particular, colour-assortative pairing has been recorded, suggesting some degree of assortative mating. Here, we combined reduced-representation sequencing (ddRADseq) and fine-scale distribution data to explore the effects of assortative pairing on the common wall lizard. Overall, our results do not support any population structure (FST = 0 and K = 1) nor a significant effect of colour morph or geographic location on genomic differentiation. Therefore, we argue that assortative pairing may not fully translate into assortative mating and genomic differentiation between colour morphs and discuss possible explanations. Nonetheless, we find potential support for an elevated population size and/or source-sink dynamics and debate the potential contribution of other forms of selection to the maintenance of colour polymorphisms in lacertids.

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A survey on the vertebrates of Wadi Al-Quff Protected Area (WAQPA) was conducted as part of a management plan preparation. Nineteen mammal species were recorded and all but one (Marbled Polecat, Vormela peregusna listed as vulnerable species) are of “least concern” by the IUCN. The pipistelle bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus was a notable finding as its most southern range of distribution so far in Palestine. Three amphibians were recorded. Among 21 reptile species recorded, three species of geckos were noted including Kotschy`s Gecko, Mediodactylys (Cyrtodactylus) kotschyi, representing the southern-most record for this species. Other reptiles recorded include the starred agama Stellagama stellio (most common reptile in WAQPA), seven species of lizards, and seven species of snakes. The Spur-thighed Tortoise (Tesudo graeca) and Gunther’s Skink (Chalcides guntheri) are considered vulnerable species according to the IUCN Red List.

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1. The Canary Island lizard Gallotia galloti, tested in still air between 5 and 35”C, heated faster than it cooled. The ratio between heating and cooling thermal time constants shows no dependence on body weight and its value was 0.50 on average. 2. Regression equations for the relationship between the thermal time constant (t) and body weight (W) during heating (h) and cooling (c) are: Tb= 1.74 W056 Tc = 2.42 W066. 3. During heating the core and subcutaneous body regions heat at the same rate, while during cooling the core cools more sfowly than the subcutaneous area. 4. Heart activity differences during heating and cooling were restricted at body temperature range 7-20°C. The increased heart activity during heating appears to be a physioIogicaIly controlled response, as opposed to the decreased heart activity during cooling, which appears to be a passive response.

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Autotomy is the ability to shed a body part when an animal receives an attack by a predator. It is often followed by regeneration of the lost parts to counteract dys functions related to limb amputation. Caudal autotomy is frequently used in lizards to avoid predation and is followed by tail regeneration. Regeneration is a costly process that can limit the resources available for somatic growth, accumulation of reserves and reproduction. We carried out two experiments to evaluate the short term and long-term effects of regeneration following caudal autotomy on the repro ductive investment of female wall lizards (Podarcis muralis), an iteroparous multi voltine species that produces 1–3 clutches per breeding season. In the short-term experiment, we compared the clutches of intact and regenerating females to explore the effects of regeneration during the development of the second clutch (built under an income breeding strategy). In the long-term experiment, we studied the invest ment made in the first spring clutch by intact and regenerating females, to assess the effects of regeneration that started prior to wintering, likely affecting the lipid storages required to develop that clutch (built under a capital breeding strategy). Regenerating females of both experiments presented a reduction in clutch mass rel ative to snout-vent length, but greater in the short-term than in the long-term exper iment. Furthermore, in the short-term experiment, the amount of tail regenerated was negatively correlated with the investment in reproduction, and regenerating females presented higher egg failure rates. These effects were stronger when clutches were built mostly under an income breeding strategy, which suggests that capital breeding may buffer the costs of regeneration on reproduction.

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Characterizing the physiological responses of wild animals to stressors, including humaninduced landscape changes, is an important question with deep implications for both animal conservation and theoretical issues. Quantifying the levels of adrenal glucocorticoid hormones in plasma are one of the most popular procedure for assessing physiological stress in animals. However, hormone assays are expensive and may be difficult in field situations. For example, the assessment of stress through measurement of plasma corticosterone requires a quantification of the baseline value that must occur within a few minutes of capture (usually 2-3 minutes), even if in most species the exact time has not been defined accurately. The leukocyte formula has the potential to be a reliable method for measuring stress in vertebrates in an alternative way to hormone dosage. For example, neutrophils (heterophils in birds and reptiles) and lymphocytes respond in opposite ways to stress, so that their relationship is generally positively correlated to circulating glucocorticoids and to the magnitude of the stress factor. Also the increase in the total number of leukocytes (leukocytosis) or the increase in the number of eosinophils (eosinocytosis) have been used as a proxy of stress, but with conflicting results. Compared to hormonal analysis, leukocytes has two major advantages: 1) the count of white blood cells starting from blood smears is simpler and cheaper, 2) the initial response of leukocytes begins within a few hours (or days), making it easier to evaluate a baseline. However, the interpretation of the leukocyte formula remains difficult because the leukocyte profile does not always provide information on the ability of individuals to trigger an immune response. A serious problem for the interpretation of differential leukocyte counts is the almost complete lack of information on the reference intervals (mean and variation intervals) for `normal` individuals, especially for wild populations. Without a definition of the baseline levels it is practically impossible to establish whether the counts observed in a given individual are high or low compared to the leukocyte profile of healthy conspecifics. This study focuses on the definition of the reference values for the Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) throughout the Italian range and on the evaluation of how these values change in relation to sex, season and geographical cline. The analysis was conducted between March and September 2010- 2016 in 54 sites, on a sample of 794 individuals (498 males and 296 females). The data collected allowed to define with precision (CV = 13%) the basal values of the species and to identify sexual differences, seasonal oscillations and variations in relation to the latitude.

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Currently, we are living an environmental crisis due to the sixth mass species extinction and habitats loss that is being caused by human action. The ex-situ biodiversity monitoring is an alternative tool to conventional methods based on more static and less profitable processes. Therefore, more effective and informative tools are needed that must be supporting the decisive politics. In this work a cost-effective and more efficient methodology is used by combining the ecological niche models (based on the habitat suitability index – HSI) with satellite remote sensing time series data. The work main purpose is to estimate the habitat trends of threatened and emblematic species of different taxonomic groups in Andalusia in the last two decades (2001 – 2019 period). To the calibration of the habitat models, several remote sensing products from MODIS sensor at 5x5km of pixel resolution were used. In general, the models showed a high performance (AUC values between 0.75 and 1), predicting the 60% of the negative trends of the habitat suitability for the total species, showing a habitat regression in the last decades. Among the most affected species, Alytes dickhilleni (amphibian) and Podarcis carbonelli (reptile) stand out, both Ibero-Andalusian endemism whose natural habitat is clearly in decline. The predictor variables that contributed the most were related to the composition and structure vegetation (LC) and with climate and energy balance (ET and LST), marching in mostly of the cases with the species ecology. This methodology represents a promising early warning tool to support management and conservation protocols for threatened species, and thus helps to anticipate the decision-making processes.

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We show the results of a field survey to evaluate the possible chromatic variety of the dorsal pattern in the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) in a population from central Apulia. The two main objectives of this study were: 1) evaluate chromatic differences of the dorsal pattern among seasons; 2) check the individual differences in dorsal coloration. During 2015, we carried out four sampling sessions, taking pictures of all the observable individuals along a transept of about 1 km inside the ZSC “Murgia dei Trulli” near Monopoli (BA). The site is characterized by an uncultivated annual vegetation, alternating with Mediterranean scrub and conifers, with a conspicuous presence of dry stone walls. Individuals were characterized by the predominant dorsal pattern coloration. Furthermore, we recognized the same individuals between different sessions thanks to the photographic marking. In the first session (III decade of March), 98% of the individuals were green (100% of the males); in the second session (I decade of June) 46% were brown; in the third session (I decade of August) 95% were brown (97% of males); in the fourth session (I decade of October) 47% were intermediate (partial overlap between brown and green). Our results highlighted how the dorsal coloration in P. siculus varies annually, probably in relation to the environmental changes according to seasons.

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Host-gut microbiota interactions are complex and can have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of both counterparts. Several host traits such as taxonomy, diet and social behavior, and external factors such as prey availability and local environment are known to influence the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. In this study, we investigated the influence of taxonomy, sex, host size, locality/habitat on gut microbiota diversity in five lizard species from two different sites in Portugal. We also analyzed the potential levels of microbial transmission between species that live in sympatry and syntopy. We studied Podarcis bocagei and Podarcis lusitanicus from northern Portugal (Moledo); and two invasive species, Podarcis siculus and Teira dugesii, and the native Podarcis virescens from Lisbon. We used a metabarcoding approach to characterize the bacterial communities from the cloaca of lizards, sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA. Habitat/locality was found to be the main driver of the differences in composition and structure of gut bacterial communities of the studied lizards, with host effects more evident at finer taxonomic scales. Additionally, lizards from urbanized environments had higher microbiome diversity than lizards from rural areas. We detected a significant positive correlation between size and gut bacterial alpha-diversity in the invasive species P. siculus, which could be due to higher exploratory behaviours. Moreover, estimates of bacterial transmission indicate that P. siculus may have acquired a high proportion of local microbiota. These findings indicate that a diverse array of host and environmental factors can influence lizards gut microbiota.

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The types of structure and abundance of the green lizard settlements are established on the basis of long-term monitoring (15 years) of the populations in the Kanivsky Naturе Reserve. The typology of ecotopes and stations of the species in the Dnieper area of the Central Forest-steppe of Ukraine (the Kiev plateau) is proposed. The anthropogenic transformation of territories and climate change possibly influence the ecological characteristics of the populations.

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Animals exhibit considerable and consistent among-individual variation in cognitive abilities, even within a population. Recent studies have attempted to address this variation using insights from the field of animal personality. Generally, it is predicted that animals with “faster” personalities (bolder, explorative, and neophilic) should exhibit faster but less flexible learning. However, the empirical evidence for a link between cognitive style and personality is mixed. One possible reason for such conflicting results may be that personality–cognition covariance changes along ecological conditions, a hypothesis that has rarely been investigated so far. In this study, we tested the effect of habitat complexity on multiple aspects of animal personality and cognition, and how this influenced their relationship, in five populations of the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii). Overall, lizards from both habitat types did not differ in average levels of personality or cognition, with the exception that lizards from more complex habitats performed better on a spatial learning task. Nevertheless, we found an intricate interplay between ecology, cognition, and personality, as behavioral associations were often habitat- but also year-dependent. In general, behavioral covariance was either independent of habitat, or found exclusively in the simple, open environments. Our results highlight that valuable insights may be gained by taking ecological variation into account while studying the link between personality and cognition.

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The immunohistochemical localization of glutamine synthetase, an astrocyte marker in mammals, was determined in the telencephalon and mesencephalon of the lizard Gallotia galloti during development by using an antiserum raised against chicken brain glutamine synthetase. Ependymal glial cells and their radial processes were glutamine synthetase immunoreactive, and they were present also in the adult. Immunoreactivity was also detected in two populations of scattered cell bodies, each preferentially localized in different zones: star-shaped cells morphologically similar to mammalian astrocytes, and ovoid or pear-shaped cell bodies, the processes of which were aligned with radial fibers and formed perivascular end-feet. Both populations displayed ultrastructural characteristics of astrocytes even though a comparison with our previous results (Monzon-Mayoret al., 1989; Yanes et al., 1989) indicated that many of these cells did not react with antibodies directed against the astrocyte-specificglial fibrillary acidic protein. During ontogeny, glutamine synthetase immunoreactivity appeared in radial glial processes and in ependymal glial cells of midbrain at embryonic stage 35 (E35) and of telencephalon at E37; in both regions, immunoreactivity in the radial glia increased until hatching and then decreased until adulthood, but it did not disappear. Labelled scattered cells became progressively more numerous and more immunoreactive. A comparative analysis of the distribution of these cells at different ages tends to suggest that some of the “ovoid astrocytes originate in, and migrate out from, the proliferative zone of the different sulci, whereas the star-shaped cells appear directly in situ, probably because they begin to express glutamine synthetase after they have reached their final location.

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New data on the distribution of the herpetofauna of the La Maddalena Archipelago are reported in the present work, together with the available literature. The study reports data on 78 islands, for 19 of these islands the data are unpublished.

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Assessment of parasites and their pathogenicity is essential for studying the ecology of populations and understanding their dynamics. In this study, we investigate the prevalence and intensity of infection of haemogregarines (phylum Apicomplexa) in two sympatric lizard species, Podarcis vaucheri and Scelarcis perspicillata, across three localities in Morocco, and their effect on host immune response. We used the Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) skin testing technique to relate the level of immune response with parasite infection. Prevalence and intensity levels were estimated with microscopy, and 18S rRNA gene sequences were used to confirm parasite identity. All parasites belong to the haemogregarine lineage found in other North African reptiles. There were differences in prevalence between localities and sexes. Overall, infected lizards were larger than uninfected ones, although we did not detect differences in parasitaemia across species, sex or locality. The swelling response was not related to the presence or number of haemogregarines, or to host body size, body condition, sex or species. We found no evidence of impact for these parasites on the circulating blood cells or the hosts’ immune system, but more data is needed to assess the potential impact of mixed infections, and the possibility of cryptic parasite species.

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Multivariate nonlinear analysis methods were applied to variability time series extracted from electrocardiographic, electrocorticographic and respiratory activities of Gallotia galloti lizards, to study interdependences between cardio-cortical activity time variations, and between cardio- respiratory activity time variations. Autonomic nervous system involvement in the mediation of such interdependences was investigated through pharmacological blockade. Cardiac variability was evaluated from the R–R intervals of the electrocardiogram (RRIv). Cortical (CORTv) and respiratory (RESPv) activity time variations were evaluated from power-data signals derived from both electrocorticogram and respiratory signal segments obtained within each R–R interval, respectively. A nonlinear index N to measure interdependence between the signals, and a surrogate data test to measure the significance and nature of the interdependences were used. A nonlinear dependence of RRIv vs. CORTv and of RRIv vs. RESPv was found. Both dependences seem to be unconnected with the functioning of both α1-adrenoceptor and cholinoceptor systems, but appear to be mediated by β-adrenoceptor mechanisms. A linear dependence of CORTv vs. RRIv and of RESPv vs. RRIv was also found. Both dependences seem to be unconnected with the operation of α1 -adrenoceptor, β-adrenoceptor and cholinoceptor systems. It is suggested that both the cardiocortical and cardiorespiratory synchronizations studied seem to be mediated by β-adrenoceptor mechanisms.

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Reptile populations are relevant components of biodiversity in both temperate and tropical forests. However, in forest habitats reptiles are secretive and the complex structure of the environment makes it difficult to assess with confidence their abundance and density. In general, capture-mark-recapture (CMR) or distance sampling (DS) are used to estimate demographic parameters of reptiles in these complex habitats. CMR may be expensive in terms of time, materials and sampling effort, while DS is strongly biased when animals lying on the transect line are overlooked. In this study, we applied a combination of CMR and hierarchical distance sampling (HDS) to estimate the density of the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis), a widespread Mediterranean terrestrial reptile. We randomly placed linear transects in a deciduous woodland (i.e. Castanea sativa), in a coniferous plantation forest (Pinus nigra) and in a dry prairie habitat, and we applied a hierarchical mark-recapture distance sampling (HMRDS) protocol. Density estimates were similar between the deciduous woodland (47 individuals/ha) and the dry prairie habitat (44 individuals/ha), while markedly lower in the coniferous plantation forest (13 individuals/ha). HMRDS data, analyzed in a Bayesian framework, showed the importance of correcting for the assumption of complete detection on the transect line, in all the three habitat types. Therefore, our approach should be useful when assessing the density of small and cryptic terrestrial animals, not only in forest but also in habitat with an apparently less complex vegetation structure.

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Over-water dispersal to small islets is an important eco-evolutionary process. Most often, new arrivals on islets find the environment harsh or mate-less, making their footholds on these islets fleeting. Occasionally, introduced animals are able to survive the strong selection following their arrival, leading to subsequent propagation and, in several famous cases, adaptive radiation. What traits predict that initial survival? We established a replicated island introduction experiment to investigate this process in lizards. In 2014, we introduced 20 Podarcis erhardii lizards to each of five small islets in the Greek Cyclades Islands. We found that the lizards that survived were those with better initial body condition, longer distal portions of their limbs and a greater propensity for jumping. Contrary to our expectations, neither body size nor the strength of the lizards’ bite – two traits positively related to competitive ability, which becomes important later in the colonization process in lizards – predicted survival. This is the first selection study of its kind investigating an experimental introduction of Podarcis, and whether the traits that determined initial survival are important in driving the future evolutionary trajectories of these populations remains to be determined.

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The kinematics of lizard feeding are the result of complex interactions between the craniocervical, the hyolingual, and the locomotor systems. The coordinated movement of these elements is driven by sensory feedback from the tongue and jaws during intraoral transport. The kinematics of jaw movements have been suggested to be correlated with the functional characteristics of the prey consumed, such as prey mobility and hardness. However, whether and how dietary breadth correlates with the flexibility in the behavioral response has rarely been tested, especially at the intraspecific level. Here we tested whether an increase in dietary breadth was associated with a greater behavioral flexibility by comparing two recently diverged populations of insular Podarcis lizards differing in dietary breadth. To do so, we used a stereoscopic high-speed camera set-up to analyze the jaw kinematics while offering them different prey types. Our results show that prey type impacts kinematics, especially maximum gape, and maximum opening and closing speed. Furthermore, the behavioral flexibility was greater in the population with the greater dietary breadth, suggesting that populations which naturally encounter and feed on more diverse prey items show a greater ability to modulate their movements to deal with variation in functionally relevant prey properties. Finally, the more generalist population showed more stereotyped move- ments suggesting a finer motor control.

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In many animals, decision-making is influenced by social learning, i.e. the acquisition of insights through the observation of other individuals’ behaviours. In cases where such socially obtained information conflicts with personally acquired knowledge, animals must weigh up one form of information against the other. Previous studies have found that individual animals differ consistently in how they trade-off socially versus personally acquired knowledge, but why this is so remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate whether an animal’s cognitive profile affects its decision to use either prior personal or new, conflicting social information, using the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) as our model species. We trained lizards to associate one of two colour cues with food, and subsequently allowed them to observe a conspecific trained for the opposite colour. After social demonstrations, lizards overall tended to use the ‘fake’, non-rewarding social information, but some individuals were more likely to do so than others. Lizards that showed faster spatial learning were more likely to copy social information even in the presence of reliable previous knowledge. Our study highlights the existence of significant inter-individual variation in social learning in a lizard, possibly mirroring variation in cognitive abilities.

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The results of the research of the current state of reptiles in Western Podillia were presented. Morphometric traits were described; habitat, spread and number of 9 reptile species belonging to 2 lines and 5 families were studied. The regional extinction of Elaphe longissima, which was at the edge of the habitat, was identified. It has been established that the borders of habitats are in the territory of Western Podillia: for Natrix tessellata and Lacerta.viridis – the northern one, for Lacerta vivipara – the southern one. The survey of the found species was made. It was shown that Lacerta agilis appeared to be the most numerous species among reptiles, although its number decreased due to human transformed natural habitats. Such species as Emys orbicularis, Anguis fragilis, Lacerta viridis, Lacerta vivipara, Coronella austriaca and Vipera berus are in a dangerous situation. These species are found sporadically, and there are all reasons to consider them as those which have decreased their number considerably. Natrix natrix and Natrix tessellata are common species. The analysis of reptile occurrence within the region of research has shown that, as to their number, species gravitate to the east and south-east of the region, covering the areas along the left bank of the Dniester River (“Dnistrovskyi canyon”) in Western Podillia Prydnistrovia (administrative territories of Zalishchyky, Bucha, Borshchiv districts of Ternopil region). In Tovtry ridge, they mostly concentrate in the territories of Zbarazh, Pidvolochysk, Husiatyn districts of Ternopil region and Kamianets-Podilsk and Chemerov districts of Khmenlnytskyi region. It is worth mentioning that the area with the highest reptile occurrence coincides with that of reserve “Medobory” and to a lesser degree with the territory of NNP “Podilski Tovtry”. To a great extent the area of reptile concentration coincides with the territory of natural park “Dnistrovskyi canyon”, in particular, closer to the hills of the Dniester River on a tract Beramiany – Ustechko, Zalishchyky – Kasperivtsi (Obizhev and Kasperivskyi reserves) and the outskirts of Dzvenyhorod village, Borshchiv district. In general, the state of reptiles in the region tends to the reduction of the number and diversity of these representatives.

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Contemporary study of molecular patterning in the vertebrate midbrain is handicapped by the lack of a complete topological map of the diverse neuronal complexes differentiated in this domain. The relatively less deformed reptilian midbrain was chosen for resolving this fundamental issue in a way that can be extrapolated to other tetrapods. The organization of midbrain centers was mapped topologically in terms of longitudinal columns and cellular strata on transverse, Nissl-stained sections in the lizard Gallotia galloti. Four columns extend along the whole length of the midbrain. In dorsoventral order: 1) the dorsal band contains the optic tectum, surrounded by three ventricularly prominent subdivisions, named griseum tectale, intermediate area and torus semicircularis, in rostrocaudal order; 2) a subjacent region is named here the lateral band, which forms the ventral margin of the alar plate and also shows three rostrocaudal divisions; 3) the basal band forms the basal plate or tegmentum proper; it appears subdivided into medial and lateral parts: the m+edial part contains the oculomotor and accessory efferent neurons and the medial basal part of the reticular formation, which includes the red nucleus rostrally; the lateral part contains the lateral basal reticular formation, and includes the substantia nigra caudally; 4) the median band contains the ventral tegmental area, representing the mesencephalic floor plate. The alar regions (dorsal and lateral) show an overall cellular stratification into periventricular, central and superficial strata, with characteristic cytoarchitecture for each part. The lateral band contains two well developed superficial nuclei, one of which is commonly misidentified as an isthmic formation. The basal longitudinal subdivisions are simpler and basically consist of periventricular and central strata.

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From the perspectives of biodiversity conservation and management, there is an urgent need to have at hand current synopses of classification and distributions of species. In this paper, we review and summarize the classifications, Chinese and English names, type specimens, type localities and distributions of China’s lizard fauna to promote scientific exchange and species conservation among relevant people in China and internationally. As of December 31, 2020, a total of 230 species of lizard, belonging to 44 genera and 12 families, have been recorded from China, including 4 invasive species: 2 in the family Gekkonidae, 1 in Iguanidae and one in Dactyloidae. There are 115 endemic species, accounting for 50% of this group. The proportion of endemic species to China was the highest in the family Eublepharidae (84.62%), and the number of endemic species to China was the highest in the family Agamidae (42 species). The species distributions and classification in the “Fauna Sinica (Reptilia 2): Squamata (Lacertilia)” were updated. Among the provincial administrative units, there is a larger number of species in the southern provinces, such as Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan. Sichuan, Yunnan, and Taiwan harbour relatively more endemic species than others. A total of 154 species of lizards were first discovered in China, and the type localities of these species are concentrated in Yunnan, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Sichuan.

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Information on the first discovery of the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus campestris (De Betta 1857), in2019 is provided for Turkan settlement, Baku City, Azerbaijan. The lizards are assumed to have unintention-ally been delivered to the Caucasus from Tuscany Province, Italy in 2016 or 2017 with garden plant seedlings. In the future the identified P. s i c u l u s micropopulation may become a source for the colonization of the Ab-sheron Peninsula by this non-indigenous reptile species. We do not expect a negative impact of P. siculus onthe aboriginal saurofauna.

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Sex-determining systems show a striking diversity not only among species, but also among populations. In reptiles, sex-determination is a continuum, from temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) to genetic sex determination (GSD). The multi-ocellated racerunner (Eremias multiocellata) is reported to be a cryptic ZZ/ZW chromosomal TSD species, with male-biased sex ratios at high temperatures in two Gansu populations. However, the generality of the sex-determining pattern in different populations of this species remains unclear. To investigate the mode of sex determination in a population of E. multiocellata from the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, we first identified sex chromosomes via comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). We then conducted a thermal manipulation experiment to determine the effect of gestation temperature on offspring sex ratios. From the CGH studies we found that lizards from the Inner Mongolia population possessed ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes. However, our thermal manipulation experiment showed that gestation temperature did not affect the sex ratio of neonates in this population. In combination, these results rule out TSD in the Inner Mongolia population of E. multiocellata, and suggest that there is widespread geographic variation in the sexdetermining system of this species.

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Leishmania tarentolae is a nonpathogenic trypanosomatid species isolated from geckoes in the Mediterranean basin. In Italy, L. tarentolae and Leishmania infantum occur in sympatry in areas where canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is endemic. Here, we investigated the prevalence and distribution of L. tarentolae in reptilian hosts and the presence of L. infantum in the same animals in southern Italy. From April 2020 to April 2021, lizards and snakes were captured in urban, peri-urban sites, natural parks, and dog shelters. Blood was individually sampled and assessed for the presence of Leishmania spp. by cytology and/or molecular biology. Captured lizards were euthanized and their tissues/organs were tested by duplex real-time-PCR for the detection of L. infantum and L. tarentolae and the positive ones were amplified by conventional PCR to confirm the species identification by sequencing. Samples were also screened by real-time PCR for L. infantum kDNA minicircle. Of the 259 collected Squamata reptiles, 34 (13.1%) specimens scored positive for Leishmania spp., with a prevalence of 10% for L. tarentolae (n=26) and of 3.1% for L. infantum (n=8). Positive lizards were mostly Podarcis siculus (n=26) from dog shelters, with six specimens positive for L. infantum. In addition, L. tarentolae was detected in one Podarcis filfolensis lizard, and in five T. mauritanica geckos (with one gecko and P. filfolensis lizard showing amastigote-like forms in thrombocytes), whereas L. infantum was detected in one T. mauritanica, and one Hemidactylus turcicus. Data herein reported demostrate that saurian reptiles living in CanL endemic areas of the Mediterranean basin may be exposed to both L. tarentolae and L. infantum indicating a sympatric circulation of these species in different vertebrate hosts. Moreover, this study represents the first molecular evidence of L. infantum infection in European reptiles.

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A study was made of the maturation of glial precursors in the subpallial nuclei during the development of the central nervous system of the lizard Gallotia galloti. At the ultrastructural level these cells resemble developing glial cells previously described in mammals. Early glioblasts, light and dark glioblasts, astroblasts, oligodendroblasts, and active oligodendrocytes predominate during the prenatal period. Immature and satellite astrocytes as well as light and medium oligodendrocytes are the main cells observed between hatching and the early postnatal period. The early postnatal period is characterized by the presence of medium and satellite oligodendrocytes, most of which become dark oligodendrocytes in the adult. The thickness of myelin sheaths increases between hatching and adult age. Gliofilament-rich mature astrocytes similar to those seen in the midbrain of these animals were never found, not even in adults. The paucity of gliofilaments in immature astrocytes explains why we could not detect perikarya containing glial fibrillary acidic protein in the telencephalon of Gallotia galloti (Yanes et al., [1990] J. Comp. Neurol. 295:559–568). The presence of glioblasts and immature astrocytes in the subpallial nuclei of lizards suggests that these animals could serve as particularly valuable models in studies of glial regeneration in the central nervous system.

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There is an increasing amount of evidence pointing towards the importance of bacteria and parasites in the ecology and dynamics of host populations. Complex microorganism communities living in intestinal tracts of the animals are known as the gut microbiome. These bacterial communities can impact the host’s fitness, immune system and behavior, whereas microbiome composition and diversity can be influenced by countless factors such as the host’s taxonomy, habitat, diet and social interactions with other individuals. In turn, blood parasites have a fundamental role in the ecosystem, weakening host fitness and reproductive ability, and thereby influencing population dynamics. Five lacertid lizard species were used for the present work, three endemic and two introduced: in Parque das Nações, Lisbon, the invasive Podarcis siculus (n=20) and the native Podarcis virescens (n=22); another introduced species, Teira dugesii (n=20), was captured from a distinct area of Lisbon (9 kilometres from the Parque das Naçoes); and in Moledo, Northern Portugal, two endemic and syntopic species were studied – Podarcis bocagei (n=33) and Podarcis lusitanicus (n=8). This thesis comprises two investigations. A first study was conducted in order to better understand the role and influence of environmental factors and the host in the gut microbiome composition and diversity of these five species. The second study had the objective of evaluating the effect of blood parasites on host behavior (using a mirror for the behavioral test), with the two syntopic species found in Moledo as models. This project allowed me to characterize the gut microbiome of these five species for the first time. Habitat/locality were the main factors driving gut microbiome differences between these species, and there was a greater microbiome diversity in species captured in Lisbon, the most urbanized studied site. I was able to verify a positive correlation between bacterial diversity and size in P. siculus, which indicates that it accumulates more bacteria, likely because bigger lizards explore more diverse environments. Additionally, I estimated bacteria transmission between sympatric lizards at Moledo and Parque das Nações. High transmission was verified for both populations. Results from the Lisbon population indicate that the invasive species, P. siculus might have acquired a higher proportion of local microbiota through the native species, P. virescens than vice versa. The second study highlighted the infection prevalence differences between P. bocagei and P. lusitanicus, with a larger number of infected individuals in the former. However, P. lusitanicus registered a higher average parasite intensity. The species that interacted with the mirror the most, and was therefore considered bolder, was P. lusitanicus. Contrary to what was expected, the individuals that interacted with the mirror the most, were more parasitized. This thesis aids in understanding the behavior and broadening the sphere of knowledge of microorganisms (bacteria and microparasites) and their interactions with the host. Such work is fundamentally important, and increased investment in these areas of knowledge is essential for species conservation.

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The paper provides data on the location of the type specimens of Lacerta agilis var. orientalis Kessler, 1878: 7 syntypes were identified in the collection of the Laboratory of Herpetology of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ZISP). The belonging to the type series is clearly indicated by the dates of their collection, localities and collectors. It is shown that according to the “International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature” (4th edition) this published valid name should be considered for L. a. brevicaudata Peters, 1958 and L. a. grusinica Peters, 1960 as the senior subjective synonym, and for L. a. exigua Eichwald, 1831 as the junior subjective synonym. To preserve the stability of the nomenclature, we designate specimen ZISP No. 22902 from Pyatigorsk as the lectotype of Lacerta agilis var. orientalis. From this point on, this trinomen should be regarded as a junior subjective synonym for L. a. exigua, which complies with recommendation ICZN Art. 74A “Agreement with previous restriction. In designating a lectotype, in order to preserve stability of nomenclature an author should act consistently with, and in any event should give great weight to, previously accepted taxonomic restrictions of the application of the name”. A description of the external morphology of the lectotype and its photograph are given.

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Se informa sobre el comportamiento arborícola de ejemplares de Podarcis muralis que utilizan regularmente, como lugar de asoleamiento, el tronco de una buganvilla plantada en un jardín. Las observaciones se vienen repitiendo de modo habitual desde la primavera de 2013, cuando se observó este comportamiento por primera vez.

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The balance of energy allocated to development and growth of different body compartments may incur allocation conflicts and can thereby entail physiological and evolutionary consequences. Regeneration after autotomy restores the functionality lost after shedding a body part but requires a strong energy investment that may trade-off with other processes, like reproduction or growth. Caudal autotomy is a widespread antipredator strategy in lizards, but regeneration may provoke decreased growth rates in juveniles that could have subsequent consequences. Here, we assessed the growth of intact and regenerating hatchling wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) exposed to different food regimens. Regenerating juveniles presented slightly but significantly lower body growth rates than individuals with intact tails when facing low food availability, but there were no differences when food was supplied ad libitum. Regenerating individuals fed ad libitum increased their ingestion rates compared to intact ones during the period of greatest tail growth, which also reveals a cost of tail regeneration. When resources were scarce, hatchlings invested more in tail regeneration in relation to body growth, rather than delay regeneration to give priority to body growth. We propose that, in juvenile lizards, regeneration could be prioritized even at the expense of body growth to restore the functionality of the lost tail, likely increasing survivorship and the probability to reach reproductive maturity. Our study indicates that food availability is a key factor for the occurrence of trade-offs between regeneration and other growth processes, so that environmental conditions would be determinant for the severity of the costs of regeneration.

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Rock lizards of the genus Darevskia are interesting research models due to their asexual reproduction. Ectoparasitic mites and ticks of these lizards are poorly known, despite some of these chelicerates being vector pathogens of humans and wildlife. Here we document and curate previously known data on ectoparasitic Acari of rock lizards and, based on our extensive survey, provide an annotated list of these ectoparasitic arthropods (six tick species, one macronyssid species, and seven chigger species). We also provide new host records (Ixodes ricinus on Darevskia caucasica, D. dryada, D. mixta, and D. szczerbaki; Haemaphysalis sulcata on D. rudis; Odontacarus saxicolis on D. brauneri); and new geographical records (O. saxicolis in Russia and Georgia).

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In the Moca stream basin from Valea lui Mihai town we identified 9 amphibian species (Lissotriton (Triturus) vulgaris, Triturus dobrogicus, Bombina bombina, Pelobates fuscus, Hyla arborea, Epidalea (Bufo) viridis, Pelophylax (Rana) ridibundus, Rana dalmatina, Rana arvalis), 5 reptile species (Emys orbicularis, Lacerta agilis, Zootoca vivipara, Podarcis taurica, Natrix natrix) and populations of Pelophylax (Rana) kl. esculentus). The herpetofauna of the region is characteristic to the northwestern plain areas from Romania, including beside typical plain species, glacial relicts connected to a colder and moister climate together with postglacial immigrants specific to the warmer and dryer areas. The herpetofauna diversity is determined by the habitat diversity, in the area being present wide marshes together with sand dunes. In addition, endangered species, which are protected at a national and European level, are present in the area. The most distinct herpetofauna lies in the marsh upstream of the town, the sector situated in the locality being heavily affected by man. The authors recommend the conservation of the marshes both upstream and downstream of the town, and the limitation of any interventions upon the stream strictly to the town sector, which is presently degraded.

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Double mutualism (DM) is a recently observed and considered phenomenon in ecology, in which a same animal species pollinates and disperses a same plant species. Very few DMs have still been reported, and little is known about their occurrence and species involved. Generalist and opportunist animal species, which have broad diet niches and sometimes act as efficient pollinators and seed dispersers, might be particularly good candidates to stablish double interactions, as they more likely may consume nectar, pollen and fruits of a same plant. Still little information exists, however, about their effectiveness compared to specialised species. This thesis aims to improve knowledge on the novel phenomenon of double mutualism, paying special attention on the importance of opportunistic nectarivores. Specifically, the thesis has three main research questions: Where DMs are more frequent and which are the taxa mainly involved in them (chapter 1)? We conducted a systematic review of published and unpublished data to provide geographical, taxonomical and ecological baseline information for future research on DMs. Most DMs occur in tropical and island ecosystems, involving mainly opportunistic vertebrate nectar consumers and generalist plants. Moreover, nearly 30 % of the species involved in DMs are threatened. High prevalence of DMs on islands and their vulnerability suggest that many DMs are also threatened with still unknown consequences for the maintenance of community composition and ecosystem functioning. How important opportunistic animals can be as double mutualists (chapters 2 - 3)? We analysed the role of a nectar-opportunist lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) who visits the flowers and consumes the fruits of the plants Ephedra fragilis and Cneorum tricoccon. Given that conspecific individuals may have different potential roles in pollination and seed dispersal, and, thus may have different consequences for plant success, intraspecific variation was integrated in the observational work and analyses. Our results show that P. lilfordi acted as an effective double mutualist, however, lizards were differently involved in both pollination and seed dispersal. On E. fragilis, adult lizards were the most involved; but, on C. tricoccon female and juveniles were the main nectar consumers, and consequently pollinators, while males were the main fruit consumers and seed dispersers. Our results support the hypothesis that intraspecific differences in mutualistic species constitute important differences which may result in different mutualistic roles. Thus, studies performed at the species level might mask the real function of intraspecific groups and/or individuals on mutualistic interactions. How important nectarivore opportunist vertebrates can be relative to specialists and insects (chapter 4)? We measured and compared pollination effectiveness (PE) of vertebrate and insect pollinators of three plant species in the Seychelles archipelago (Thespesia populnea, Polyscias crassa and Syzygium wrightii), measuring quantity and quality components. Our study indicates that some Seychelles plant species depend on insects and specialised vertebrate pollinators, but also on opportunistic vertebrate nectar-feeders. The data on T. populnea and S. wrightii supported the hypothesis that specialist nectar feeders have higher PE than opportunistic nectar-feeding species; by contrast, the generalist geckos were more effective pollinators than specialist animals on P. crassa. Furthermore, we showed that PE of a particular pollinator species varies depending on the plant species, regardless of its feeding behaviour. Results also highlight the vulnerability of pollination interactions to invasive alien species, as the ABSTRACT 28 PE of vertebrate pollinators was compromised by the presence of the invasive yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes, which primarily reduced their flower visitation rates. This thesis contributes with a wide picture of DMs around the World, and with some analysed examples. It also underlines that measuring effectiveness of interactions and their components is important and need to be integrated in mutualistic studies, as well as focus such studies at intraspecific level, otherwise the real function of each intraspecific group is masked. We hope that this thesis is the beginning of a change in the way of perceiving and studying mutualisms and, in general, ecological interactions.

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Caucasian rock lizards of the genus Darevskia are unique taxa, including both bisexual and parthenogenetic species. The parthenogenetic species have originated as a result of natural hybridisation between females and males of different bisexual species. The species involved in interspecific hybridisation are called parental. However, sympatric zones (SZ) of unisexual and bisexual rock lizards of the Caucasus are still poorly studied, although they are very important for understanding the role of hybrid individuals of different origin in reticulate evolution. This paper presents the location of the SZs of parthenogenetic and their parental bisexual rock lizards of the genus Darevskia in Armenia and adjacent territories of Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. We summarised the locations of the SZs identified from 1957 to the present, based on our field survey data gathered in 2018-2019 and records from publications and museum collections. This dataset includes 39 SZs of three types: SZ of parental bisexual species, SZ of parental species with unisexual species and SZ of the parthenogenetic species. For each zone, species composition, geographical and altitudinal distribution are presented. New records expand our knowledge of the geographical and altitudinal distribution of SZs in these species and provide additional data for understanding the mechanisms of reticulate evolution and hybridogeneous speciation in the past, present and future.