Nocturnal geckos can actively forage at low temperatures. A low minimum cost of locomotion allows greater sustainable speeds by partially offsetting the decrease in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) associated with low nocturnal temperatures. The nocturnality hypothesis (Autumn et al. 1997) proposes that the reduced cost of continuous locomotion is a shared, derived characteristic that increa...

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...

Differences in habitat use are often correlated with differences in morphology and behavior, while animals in similar habitats often exhibit similarities in form and function. However, this has not been tested extensively among lizards, especially geckos. Most studies of gecko locomotion have focused on the ability to adhere to surfaces. However, there are several species of geckos that have ei...

Phylogenetic analysis using up to 1325 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA from 179 specimens and 30 species of Chalcides, Sphenops, Eumeces, Scincopus and Scincus indicates that Sphenops arose twice independently within Chalcides. It is consequently synonymized with that genus. Chalcides in this broader sense originated in Morocco, diversifying into four main clades about 10 Ma, after which some o...