In recent years, molecular studies have revealed complex patterns of diVerentiation within many European herpetological taxa. Wall lizards (Podarcis spp.) were one of the most studied groups, perhaps due to the complexity of deWning taxonomical entities within this genus by morphological analysis only, due to an extreme intraspeciWc variability coupled with low variation between species. Regard...

The authors examine the relative roles of vision and chemoreception and the influence of previous experience with prey on the predatory behavior of Iberian wall lizards (Podarcis hispanica). Experiment 1 compared the responses to visual, chemical, and a combination of visual and chemical cues of a familiar prey by 2 groups of lizards that had been kept in captivity for either 3 months or 21 day...

The diversity of lacertid lizards in Africa is highest in the southern African subcontinent, where over two-thirds of the species are endemic. With eleven currently recognized species, Pedioplanis is the most diverse among the southern African genera. In this study we use 2200 nucleotide positions derived from two mitochondrial markers (ND2 and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear gene (RAG-1) to (i) asse...

To understand how nest temperatures influence phenotypic traits of reptilian hatchlings, the effects of fluctuating temperature on hatchling traits must be known. Most investigations, however, have only considered the effects of constant temperatures. We incubated eggs of Takydromus septentrionalis (Lacertidae) at constant (24 degrees C, 27 degrees C, 30 degrees C and 33 degrees C) and fluctuat...

The León rock lizard, Iberolacerta galani, lives in isolated mountains of Spain. We studied the seasonal changes in the thermal biology of I. galani between spring and summer. We calculated precision, accuracy and effectiveness of thermoregulation and the habitat thermal quality for spring, and compared with the values of summer. In addition, we studied how the shift in the thermal preferences ...

The Acanthodactylus boskianus species group includes three species (A. boskianus, A. nilsoni, and A. schreiberi) of unclear phylogeny and phylogeographic history. By sequencing fragments of two mtDNA genes and performing phylogenetic, demographic, and chronophylogenetic analyses, we aimed at identifying their phylogenetic relationships while unravelling their biogeographic history. The analyses...

Th e amphibian and reptile specimens, crushed due to vehicle traffi c, were recorded during herpetological trips to various regions of Anatolia between 2005 and 2009. In total, 183 individuals were detected, representing 28 species from 4 amphibian [Salamandridae (1), Ranidae (3), Bufonidae (2), and Hylidae (2)], 3 turtle [Testudinidae (1), Emydidae (1), and Geoemydidae (2)], 3 lizard [Agamidae...

Evolutionary changes in foraging style are often believed to require concurrent changes in a complex suite of morphological, physiological, behavioural and life-history traits. In lizards, species from families with a predominantly sit-and-wait foraging style tend to be more stocky and robust, with larger heads and mouths than species belonging to actively foraging families. Here, we test wheth...

We acclimated adult males of three Eremias lizards from different latitudes to 28 °C, 33 °Cor 38 °Cto examine whether temperature acclimation affects their thermal preference and tolerance and whether thermal preference and tolerance of these lizards correspond with their latitudinal distributions. Overall , selected body temperature ( Tsel) and viable temperature range (VTR) were both highest ...