The locality of El Salt (Alcoi, Spain) is a key site for understanding the extirpation Neanderthals in eastern part Iberia. In this paper, we analyse an assemblage amphibians and reptiles from Stratigraphic Unit V (45.2 ± 3.4 ka to 44.7 ka), which corresponds one last regional records Neanderthals, improve knowledge palaeoecology palaeoclimate event. comprises three anurans (Pelodytes sp., Alyt...

Preliminary results of the investigation of the microfauna at the Acheulo-Yabrudian Middle Pleistocene site of Qesem Cave, Israel, are presented. Thus far the assemblage includes ca. 10,000 bone and tooth fragments, of which 50% could be identified to the generic and some hundreds to the species level. Based on the current material, the fauna includes the following squamate reptiles: Laudakia s...

Phylogenetic relationships of Iranian Acanthodactylus species were investigated using 1407 bp of mitochondrial DNA including 606 bp of cytochrome b and 801 bp of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4). Analyses done with maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian inference included 67 specimens from 27 geographically distinct localities in Iran. Our molecular results proposed three clear a...

Cryptic species complexes represent groups that have been classified as a single species, because of the difficulty in distinguishing its members morphologically. Morphological investigation following the discovery of cryptic diversity is crucial for describing and conserving biodiversity. Here we present a detailed account of morphological variation in a group of Iberian and North African Poda...

Lacertinae is one of the three lacertid lizard subfamilies with a geographical distribution confined to the Palaearctic. Several past attempts to reconstruct its phylogeny resulted in unresolved bush-like topologies. We address the question of whether the lack of resolution is due to insufficient data or whether this lack reflects a rapid succession of speciation events. We analyzed four partia...

Caudal autotomy is a common defense mechanism in lizards, where the animal may lose part or all of its tail to escape entrapment. Lizards show an immense variety in the degree of investment in a tail (i.e., length) across species, with tails of some species up to three or four times body length (snout-vent length [SVL]). Additionally, body size and form also vary dramatically, including variati...

The accelerating rate of vertebrate extinctions and population declines threatens to disrupt important ecological interactions, altering key ecosystem processes such as animal seed dispersal. The study of highly specialized mutualistic interactions is crucial to predict the consequences of population declines and extinctions. Islands offer unique opportunities to study highly specialized intera...