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The reproductive strategies of reptiles vary according to many factors. In lizards, intraspecific and interspecific competition, and environmental and seasonal factors affect their reproductive biology. This study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of testis sizes in the sympatrically coexisting species, Podarcis muralis and Podarcis tauricus, located in Kofçaz, Kirklareli, Turkey, considering both intra-species and interspecies variations. Changes in body sizes and testis sizes according to months were monitored. As a result, it was determined that in both species, there was a positive correlation between body size and testis size, and that in P. tauricus, both body and testis sizes were higher compared to P. muralis, showing a significant difference. It was also observed that in the P. muralis species, the testis size reached its peak value in April (mean daily temperature 9.9°C), while in the P. tauricus species, it reached the highest value in May (mean daily temperature 15.5°C). It was found that the testis size in P. muralis reached its lowest value in August (mean daily temperature 23.8°C), while in P. tauricus, it was lowest in September (mean daily temperature 20.2°C). The fact that testis size is high in different months in these two sympatric species suggests that their active breeding periods differ.

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Parthenogenesis has been discovered in a great number of reptiles, indicating that parthenogens can outcompete bisexual species and hybridize with them. This raises intriguing questions: how do parthenogenetic species coexist with gonochoristic relatives, and what outcome does this coexistence produce? To answer these two questions, we studied relationships between male rock lizards, Darevskia valentini, and parthenogenetic Darevskia armeniaca. We compared social and sexual reactions of males to females of their own species and parthenogenetic D. armeniaca and vice versa. We found that females of both species basked together with males and demonstrated mostly submissive behaviour. Females of D. valentini were less aggressive towards males in the mixed-species population than in the single-species population, suggesting female competition for males. The proportion of successful and unsuccessful mating attempts with females of bisexual and unisexual species was equal, and we found no significant differences in male reactions to bisexual and unisexual females in sympatry. The proportion of females bearing mating scars on their venters and the number of these scars per female were greater in the bisexual species. This indicates that females of the bisexual species were more attractive than parthenogenetic females as mating partners to males. We found no triploid hybrids among the offspring of parthenogenetic females that mated with males in the mixed population. Our findings suggest that parthenogenetic species might outcompete bisexual species by mating with males and integrating into the social system.

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A total of 302 specimens of amphibians and reptiles were sampled from Al-Arish town and four stations around it during 12 months period of study from January to December, 1988. 21 Species belonging to 11 famillies were occurred in the area comprising; one toad: Bufo viridis., 2 marine turtles; Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas and other 18 terrestrial reptilian species. Acanthodactylus scutellatus was the most dominant cursorial species found in all sand dunes of the mean area in all the year seasons constituting about 30% of the total capture. Mabuya vittata was firstly recorded in Sinai. Six reptilian species were appended to the fauna of Al-Arish area, they are Agama stellio vulgaris, Ptyodactylus hasselquistii guttatus; Lytorhynchus diadema; Psammophìs schokari; Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas. The highest catch number of individuals occurred in station 1 (82 specimens) while the lowest number was in station 5 (15 specimens). Seasonal distribution indicated that the highest catch number occurred during spring (87 specimens) while the lowest crop occurredin winter (47 specimens).

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A list of reptiles and amphibians occurring on the Dodecanese Archipelago is provided with the latest taxonomic updates. Notes relating to animals’ ecology and to critical habitats are also given. Observations are also made regarding the subspecies Dolichophis jugularis zinneri Cattaneo, 2012 endemic to Rhodes and its Archipelago, and a survey on the Amphibians and Reptiles species known from the southwestern Turkey, whose presence in the Dodecanese Islands has not yet been detected, is discussed.

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

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Phenological advances are a widespread response to global warming and can contribute to determine the climate vulnerability of organisms, particularly in ectothermic species, which are highly dependent on ambient temperatures to complete their life cycle. Yet, the relative contribution of breeding dates and temperature conditions during gestation on fitness of females and their offspring is poorly documented in reptiles. Here, we exposed females of the common lizard Zootoca vivipara to contrasting thermal scenarios (cold vs. hot treatment) during gestation and quantified effects of parturition dates and thermal treatment on life-history traits of females and their offspring for 1 year. Overall, our results suggest that parturition date has a greater impact than thermal conditions during gestation on life history strategies. In particular, we found positive effects of an earlier parturition date on juvenile survival, growth, and recruitment suggesting that environmental-dependent selection and/or differences in parental quality between early and late breeders underlie seasonal changes in offspring fitness. Yet, an earlier parturition date compromised the energetic condition of gravid females, which suggests the existence of a mother–offspring conflict regarding the optimization of parturition dates. While numerous studies focused on the direct effects of alterations in incubation temperatures on reptile life-history traits, our results highlight the importance of considering the role of breeding phenology in assessing the short- and long-term effects of thermal developmental plasticity.

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Pregnancy is a physiological cost of reproduction for animals that rely on fleeing to avoid predators. Costs of reproduction are predicted to differ between alternative reproductive strategies or modes, such as egg-laying (oviparity) or live-bearing (viviparity). However, disentangling the factors that comprise this cost and how it differs for oviparous or viviparous females is challenging due to myriad environmental, biological, and evolutionary confounds. Here, we tested the hypothesis that costs of pregnancy differ between oviparous and viviparous common lizards (Zootoca vivipara). We predicted that the degree of locomotor impairment during pregnancy and therefore the cost of reproduction would be higher in viviparous females. We conducted our experiment in a hybrid zone containing oviparous and viviparous common lizards. Due to the common environment and inclusion of hybrid individuals, we could infer whether differences were inherent to parity mode. We found that the average and maximum running speed of pregnant females was slower than after they had given birth or laid eggs. Viviparous females experienced an additional pregnancy weight burden and for a longer time period, but were not slower at running than pregnant oviparous females. In addition, we found a parity mode-specific effect of reproductive investment; producing larger clutches was costlier for the locomotor performance of viviparous females for reasons other than the mass increase. Locomotor costs were found to be intermediate in hybrid females, indicating that they are specific to each reproductive mode. Our study shows that viviparous females experience an additional physical and physiological cost of pregnancy and reproductive investment. This two-fold cost implies that viviparous females modulate resource allocation decisions and/or adjust their behavioural responses that result from locomotor impairment.

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Microplastics are a global environmental problem, polluting both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Terrestrial lizards are suitable model organisms to study human-induced pollution in these areas, as they can live in urbanized areas where microplastics are most abundant. Therefore, we analyzed the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in a common Lacertid lizard, the snake-eyed lizard, Ophisops elegans. We detected MPs in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of 33 of 152 specimens from 18 populations. The detected MPs had six distinct polymer compositions, namely Polyethylene terephthalate, Polyacrylonitrile, Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Poly methyl methacrylate and Polyamide. The majority of these MPs were fiber-type and the dominant color was navy blue. The lengths of MPs varied from 37 to 563 µm, with an average length of 175 ?m. MPs were detected in the GITs of 43% of juveniles (n = 7), 30% of males (n = 105), and 18% of females (n = 40), with a mean of 0.27 per specimen. Furthermore, we found that microplastic densities varied with habitat distance from human settlements, supporting the theory that high levels of microplastic contamination are associated with extensiveanthropogenic activity.

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Kestert is a village on the right bank of the Rhine in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. At the river bend it extends to a south-faced steep rocky slope of more than 200 meters, where in March 2021 a substantial (15k tons) rock slide occurred which covered not just the road and the tracks but also the western end of the habitat of the Western Emerald Lizard as well as of the Common Wall Lizard, both being legally protected species. In the area, the Western Emeral Lizard is the more susceptible species as it is living here on the north rim of its distribution. The land is managed by the German Railways. After a field visit by naturalists and herpetologists in June 2021 the buried land has been restructured meticulously with a view to technical necessities and the utmost conservation of untouched areas as well as the restoration of the buried sites into well-structured, locally adapted structures carrying local rock and local vegetation. For a rock slide capturing basin, there is now a dry south slope and a moister east slope which runs parallel to a non-perennual creek, which had to be carefully excavated. The measues have been very successful with wall lizards on the south and emerald lizards on the east slopes. The first emerald lizard juveniles have been found venturing towards the east slope in late summer 2023, and in spring 2024 the first adults have extended their territories into the east slope, all originating from neighbouring lands in the north and the east. In spring 2024 the first adult pair of wall lizards was seen in the south slope, obviously originating from the East-running railway tracks. Due to the conservation of vegetation and the speedy and insect-friendly re-vegetation, both species have invaded their sites one year earlier than expected. The original landscape, the slide and the restoration of the site as well as the lizards from the site are shown in the figures, and the plants are listed in the tables.

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The variability in behavioural syndromes at different scale levels (e.g., within population or among species) is relevant in ecological and evolutionary patterns. It provides the basis on which natural selection can act to promote evolutionary processes. Additionally, behavioural syndromes can be seen as a form of pre-adaptation, favouring a species’ ability to cope with novel selective pressures, establish in new habitats, enhancing population stability, and dealing with deseases and parasites. We assessed repeatability (two replicates for individual) for five behavioural traits (activity, boldness including components of exploration and escape, sociability, and foraging activity) and tested the occurrence of behavioural syndromes in both sexes of three taxa of lacertid lizards: two clades of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis maculiventris and P. m. nigriventris), and the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus). All behavioural traits except sociability were repeatable in all the three taxa. Our findings clearly reveal the occurrence of a behavioural syndrome related to the propensity to move through and explore new enviroments, escape from predation risk, and successfully capture prey. We also provide empirical evidence for higher repeatability of behaviours in males compared to females, as well as differences in behavioural syndromes at the taxon-level. These results support the occurrence of personality in both common and Italian wall lizards, highlighting marked variability in personality across different scales. This variability could ultimately reflect the interaction between the specific needs inherent in both sexes within each species, and the environmental/competitive context in which these needs are fulfilled.

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An analysis of the diets of reptiles is essential for understanding the role of reptiles in the ecosystem and the employment of successful conservation management plans. For this purpose, noninvasive and invasive methods to identify consumed prey have been used. Here, we investigated the diet of male and female European Green Lizards (Lacerta viridis) by sampling fecal pellets across 2 yr in the spring and late summer at a single site. We used the following two methods for identifying prey remnants from fecal samples: the classical macroscopic approach that requires competent expert knowledge and the molecular approach based on the dietary metabarcoding of nondegraded prey remnant DNA. According to both methods, lizards consumed mainly insects belonging to 13 orders, with Coleoptera as the dominant prey. The number of prey taxa was similar between the sexes, but the prey composition at the genus level was significantly different, with males capturing some coleopterans more than females. The diets also differed significantly between season. In the spring, lizards consumed many more prey types and many more coleopteran specimens than in late summer. The proportion of identified prey taxa was significantly different between the identification methods. From the total of identified prey, macroscopic identification yielded only about 50% of taxa, whereas molecular identification yielded more than 80% of taxa. Our results show that molecular identification can recover a much higher number of prey than the macroscopic method, yet not all prey. Thus, the integration of both methods best described the natural diet and complex trophic interactions of European Green Lizards.