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The feeding of Lacerta agilis was studied by means of the content analysis of lizards` stomachs conducted in the vicinity of Saratov City from April till September 1983, 2003 and 2007. The maximum daily diet was characteristic in July and reached 2.5–2.7 g/day, while the minimum one was in April and September (1.1–1.2 g/day). The highest and lowest numbers of food objects were recorded in May and September, respectively. Insects are the basic food objects of L. agilis, their occurrence frequency being 100% during the whole active-life period. Coleoptera representatives predominated in the diet (25.4–40.5% by number, 43.5–70.9% by weight). The fractions of Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, etc. were somewhat lower. Well-flying and quickly-moving insects predominated in the food spectrum of L. agilis. Rather many invertebrates with cryptic colour, poisonous, stinging and badly smelt ones were frequently met among the nutrition objects. Moreover, vegetable remains (seeds, leaves, flower fragments etc.) and various small stones to act probably as gastrolytes were found in many stomachs.

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Telomeres are repeat (TTAGGG)n sequences that form terminal ends of chromosomes and have several functions, such as protecting the coding DNA from erosion at mitosis. Due to chromosomal rearrangements through evolutionary history (e.g., inversions and fusions), telomeric sequences are also found between the centromere and the terminal ends (i.e., at interstitial telomeric sites, ITSs). ITS telomere sequences have been implicated in heritable disease caused by genomic instability of ITS polymorphic variants, both with respect to copy number and sequence. In the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis), we have shown that telomere length is predictive of lifetime fitness in females but not males. To assess whether this sex specific fitness effect could be traced to ITSs differences, we mapped (TTAGGG)n sequences using fluorescence in situ hybridization in fibroblast cells cultured from 4 specimens of known sex. No ITSs could be found on autosomes in either sex. However, females have heterogametic sex chromosomes in sand lizards (ZW, 2n = 38) and the female W chromosome showed degeneration and remarkable (TTAGGG)n amplification, which was absent in the Z chromosomes. This work warrants further research on sex chromosome content, in particular of the degenerate W chromosome, and links to female fitness in sand lizards.

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The distribution of substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and serotonin (5-HT) containing structures in the central nervous system of the lizard, Lacerta agilis, were investigated with the aid of the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method. SP and 5-HT nerve fibers are found almost all over the brain, whereas VIP fibers are mainly observed in the limbic area, in the periventricular gray matter of the diencephalon and in the brain stem. The cells of origin are located in the telencephalon for the SP, in the mesencephalic tegmentum for the VIP, and in the midline and the basis of the brain stem for the 5-HT. In addition to the known paraventricular organ in the diencephalon VIP and 5-HT immunoreactive cells are found in the ependymal layer of the rostral part of the lateral ventricle.

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The effects of warming temperatures on embryonic and hatchling development are critical for determining the vulnerability of species to climate warming. However, these effects have rarely been investigated in high-latitude oviparous species, particularly in their low-latitude margin populations. This study investigated the embryonic and hatchling development and fitness-related traits of a low-latitude margin population of a high-latitude lizard (Lacerta agilis). These traits were examined under present (24◦C), moderate warming (27 and 30◦C), and severe warming scenarios (33◦C). Based on embryonic and hatchling responses to thermal variation, this study aimed to predict the vulnerability of the early life stages of low-latitude margin population of Lacerta agilis to climate warming. The incubation period of the low-latitude margin population of Lacerta agilis decreased as the temperature increased from 24 to 33◦C. Hatching success was similar at 24, 27, and 30◦C but decreased significantly at 33◦C. No differences with temperature were observed for hatchling snout-vent length and hatchling body mass. The sprint speed was higher for hatchlings from temperatures of 24 and 33◦C. The growth rate of hatchlings was highest at 30◦C; however, the survival rate of hatchlings was not affected by the thermal environment. This study demonstrated that even for a low-latitude margin population of the high-latitude lizard, Lacerta agilis, moderate warming (i.e., 27 and 30◦C) would benefit embryonic and hatchling development. This was indicated by the results showing higher hatching success, growth rate, and survival rate. However, if temperatures increase above 33◦C, development and survival would be depressed significantly. Thus, low-latitude margin population of high-latitude species Lacerta agilis would benefit from climate warming in the near future but would be under stress if the nest temperature exceeded 30◦C.

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The eggs of birds typically hatch after a fixed (but lineage-specific) cumulative number of heart beats since the initiation of incubation. Is the same true for non-avian reptiles, despite wide intraspecific variation in incubation period generated by variable nest temperatures? Non-invasive monitoring of embryo heart beat rates in one turtle species (Pelodiscus sinensis) and two lizards (Bassiana duperreyi and Takydromus septentrionalis) show that the total number of heart beats during embryogenesis is relatively constant over a wide range of warm incubation conditions. However, incubation at low temperatures increases the total number of heart beats required to complete embryogenesis, because the embryo spends much of its time at temperatures that require maintenance functions but that do not allow embryonic growth or differentiation. Thus, cool-incubated embryos allocate additional metabolic effort to maintenance costs. Under warm conditions, total number of heart beats thus predicts incubation period in non-avian reptiles as well as in birds (the total number of heart beats are also similar); however, under the colder nest conditions often experienced by non-avian reptiles, maintenance costs add significantly to total embryonic metabolic expenditure.

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Op het militaire oefenterrein Leusderheide leven veel zandhagedissen. Waar zitten ze precies, hoeveel zijn er, waar leggen ze eieren, en wat is de invloed van het terreingebruik op de populatie? De gevonden aantallen konden worden omgerekend naar dichtheden en werden gerelateerd aan de structuur van de vegetatie. Het militaire gebruik had een positieve invloed door de grote variatie in intensiteit en plaats van uitvoering in samenhang met de grote oppervlakte van het gebied.

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Oceanic islands are places where biological assemblages are relatively simple, as compared to the mainland. On islands, however, pollinator assemblages may to be composed of a taxonomically disparate group of organisms (e.g. insects, lizards, and birds), some of them with opportunistic nectar-feeding behaviour. Here we investigated some components of pollination effectiveness of Lotus maculatus (Fabaceae), an endangered Canary Islands endemic. In a flower exclusion experiment, we bagged flowers and compared their subsequent fruit and seed set to that of control flowers. Number of interactions with vertebrate and invertebrate flower visitors was counted and it was recorded whether interactions were legitimate (potentially pollinating) or non-legitimate (nectar robbing). Additionally, we estimated pollen loads on lizards and looked for any relationship between reproductive success of individual plants and number of visits made by the top three flower-visiting species (in terms of both frequency of occurrence at censuses and number of floral visits). Bagged flowers fruited less and with fewer seeds than control flowers. The only observed flower-visiting vertebrate was the Tenerife lizard Gallotia galloti, whose interactions were always legitimate and with around a half of captured individuals carrying pollen grains. The most frequent flower-visiting insect was the honeybee Apis mellifera followed by the solitary bee Lasioglossum arctifrons. The honeybee, however, was only a nectar robber, and the solitary bee was not an effective pollinator, but rather a pollen gatherer. Fruit set by individual plants was positively related only to frequency of visits by the lizard. Thus, the lizard seems to play a key role in the conservation management of L. maculatus.

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The rigorous rejuvenation of a patch of heathland in the Dutch province Utrecht led to the translocation 146 sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) in 2009. The necessity of this translocation follows the regulations set by the Dutch Flora and Fauna legislation. A total of 146 lizards were caught in the source location, photographed, and relocated to a suitable reception site where other sand lizards were already present. After relocation, two locations were monitored, both during 14 visits; (1) one site between the source location and the relocation site, and (2) one site within the relocation site. Within the first monitoring site, 33 unique lizards were seen and photographed. None of these individuals were part of the relocated population. During the monitoring within the relocation site, 63 unique individuals were seen and photographed, of which six were previously relocated from the source site. From the 146 relocated sand lizards, only a 10% was found in the relocation area. The ultimate fate of the other 90% translocated individuals is unknown. Other sand lizards were already present in the relocation area in high densities, competition for resources may have led to intraspecific competition which may have led to fighting with stress, death and possible migration of translocated individuals as a result. It’s questionable whether the relocation of sand lizards in this manner is indeed a viable solution. Suggestions and recommendations improving these prescribed translocations are described in this paper.

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Two decades ago, a decision of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature was made to set aside the types of the southwest African sand lizard Pedioplanis undata (A. Smith, 1838) and to designate a neotype to maintain nomenclatural stability. Both the application and the subsequent decision were published in a short way in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature without any pictorial documentation. To rectify this omission, and to make the decision of that time comprehensible, the relevant figures of the specimens involved are presented here.

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Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) have been found in several gabion structures on a former railway line between Oberhausen and Duisburg. The “populations” comprise only a few animals in each case, but reproduction was also detected at one site. In our empty landscapes, gabions now provide substitute habitats for lizards in many places – in place of former dry stone walls.

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Comments on the possible causes of observed green backs in wall lizards in Rhineland-Palatinate.

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Observations of lacertids and their habitats from two trips in 2006 and 2023 in the west and south of the Peloponnese peninsula are summarized. Greek Algyroides Algyroides moreoticus Bibron & Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1833, Greek Rock Lizard Hellenolacerta graeca (Bedriaga, 1886), Balkan Green Lizard Lacerta trilineata trilineata Bedriaga, 1886, Ionic Wall Lizard Podarcis ionicus (Lehrs, 1902) and Peloponnese Wall Lizard Podarcis peloponnesiacus (Bibron & Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1833) were found at various locations. In some cases, four of the mentioned species were found at one location at the same time.

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The finding of a wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) far north of its natural distribution is described.

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The paper presents the results of studying the reproductive biology of Darevskia da- ghestanica in the valleys of Khzanor and Kitlyarta rivers (Tsunta district, Republic of Dage- stan, Republic of Dagestan). Adult females were caught in the II–III decades of May 2021. In the following, the animals were kept singly in a laboratory. Lizards laid eggs from the third decade of May to the second decade of June. The body length of breeding females was 43.95– 56.20 mm. Each clutch contained from 1 to 5 eggs with a length of 6.05‒14.47 mm, a width of 4.28‒7.30 mm and a weight of 0.10‒0.40 g. Incubation in artificial conditions lasted 36–51 days. The body length of young lizards emerging from eggs was 20.24‒27.52 mm, and the mass was 0.20‒0.42 g. The length of eggs in a clutch negatively correlated with the fertility of females, and also statistically significantly differed in clutches with different number of eggs. The authors conclude that D. daghestanica is similar to other representatives of the Darevskia (caucasica) complex, as well as to lizards from the Darevskia (praticola) complex in terms of reproductive phenology, size of breeding animals, fertility and the size of offspring.

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Introduced Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis) have steadily increased their range on Vancouver Island and other parts of coastal British Columbia, Canada since the 1970s. Without substantial observations of their feeding habits in this introduced range, a full assessment of the ecological impact of this species introduction is not possible. In this study, we provide qualitative observations on the diets of a large sample of urban dwelling Common Wall Lizards collected from a residential neighborhood in Victoria, British Columbia. Specimens were euthanized, dissected, and had their entire digestive tracts examined. Our observations showed a rich diet of invertebrates typical of wall lizards, with ants (Family Formicidae) as the most detected prey followed by beetles (Order Coleoptera), and earwigs (Order Dermaptera). Adults consumed approximately 30% more prey taxa than juveniles. We also found the remains of other wall lizards within ~5 % of adult guts, suggesting cannibalism or carcass scavenging. The results of this study provide additional information for assessing the potential impacts of wall lizard trophic interactions in their British Columbian range and can help orient future investigations focused on this introduced species.

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Sexual dimorphism stands out as a significant evolutionary outcome of sexual selection between males and females across various species. Reptiles also exhibit distinct morphological differences between males and females. For instance, the genus Darevskia, exemplified by Darevskia schaekeli in this study, displays sexual dimorphism. Examination of morphological traits in this species revealed that males possess greater head length, trunk length, forelimb and hindlimb length, as well as a higher number of femoral pores compared to females. All these morphological distinctions, favoring males, are pivotal in their mating and reproductive processes. In this species, the mating process commences with the male biting the female’s head. Subsequently, he restrains her by gripping her hindlimbs and positions their cloacal edges to rotate his body in front of hers. Greater body length and hind limb size are crucial for this maneuver. During the mating season (spring), males exhibit a more diverse and prominent dorsal and lateral color pattern compared to females, suggesting a form of sexual selection within this species.

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The lacertid Latastia ornata was known to date only by its holotype collected in 1938 in Bafatá, central Guinea-Bissau. We report new specimens and localities from Guinea-Conakry, a new country record and major range extension of 700 km SE of the type-locality. We provide an updated diagnosis of the species, including the first genetic and osteological data, and confirm that Latastia ornata is closely related to, but distinct from, L. longicaudata based on external morphology, cranial osteology, DNA data and zoogeography.

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Anatomical-morphological features of the postcranial skeleton of nine taxa of the rock lizards of the genus Darevskia Arribas, 1999 belonging to the Darevskia (caucasica) and Darevskia (saxicola) complexes were studied for the first time on representative samples. Specimens with the rib formula 3+1 were found in both complexes (previously, only two variants were known for the genus Darevskia 3+2 and 3+3). Differences between supraspe- cific groups and their members were described with the use of type specimens or topotypes of each taxon. The studied complexes are differentiated by the range of variability of presacral vertebrae (in the D. (caucasica) their minimum number is 26, in the D. (saxicola) – 27), the number of the posterior presacral vertebrae with ribs (the average value of this trait in the D. (caucasica) is less than 6, in D. (saxicola) – more than 6). B-type of the tail vertebrae in 5 times more common in the D. (saxicola) than in the D. (caucasica). In turn, the latter group is cha- racterized by a larger share of individuals with ossified ribs at the third cervical vertebra and a greater variability of the sternal-xiphisternal costal (rib) formula. Skeletal morphology of D. alpina indicates its greater similarity with representatives of the D. (caucasica) complex. A certain originality of D. c. vedenica was recorded. The study of D. saxicola specimens from the zone of sympatry with D. c. caucasica (Chegem Gorge) did not reveal their simi- larity with the latter, except for the presence of two variants of the sternal-xiphisternal formula. Cryptic forms within D. lindholmi differ at least in two traits: the minimum number of posterior presacral vertebrae with short ribs and the presence of individuals with caudal vertebrae of B-type.

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Sexual dimorphism in digit ration is related to genetic differences between species in response to prenatal exposure to hormones. In this study, the development of tetrapod digits, preliminary the ratio between the length of digit II and IV (2D: 4D) was investigated in 34 samples of Darevskia cholorogaster in the North of Iran. The results showed no significant differences between sexes in any digit length. The digit ratio 2D: 4D was different between males and females in which the females had greater 2D: 4D in forelimb than the males. However, this difference was not significant. Sexual dimorphism in 2D: 4D, 3D: 4D and 2D: 3D ratios for the male and female showed no correlation within sex. Our results supported a genetic pattern seen in humans and most mammals, inconsistent with basic genetic pattern in reptiles. We concluded that the digits ratios observed in D. cholorogaster could be referred to microhabitat use by this species on different surfaces, besides basic genetic pattern and other ecological effects as foraging and mating.

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Since individual metapolic activity depends on body temperature, maintaining this temperature within the optimal range is important for living organisms. Behavioural adaptations allow body temperature to stay within a narrow range. Huddling helps animals conserve energy more efficiently and improves environmental adaptability under cold conditions. Rock lizards of the Darevskia genus also actively engage in huddling on basking sites; thermoregulation, however, has not been previously considered as a possible reason for their grouping. We hypothesise that lizard aggregations might help to maintain body temperature in cold conditions. To test this suggestion, we conducted route surveys in an area with a high population density of two coexisting Darevskia species and determined the influence of external conditions on grouping behaviour. We found that the number of lizard groups and the number of individuals per group are significantly larger in cloudy weather and low irradiance than in sunny weather and high irradiance. Correlation analyses did not show a significant effect of air temperature and wind speed on the formation of groups. We suggest that small lizards huddle during poor irradiance to maintain internal body temperature and prolong their activity.

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We present the distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Burgos (Spain), expressed by UTM 10x10Km.The situation of the country lake an area with different herpetofauna populations is a very important success; there are european-atlantic herpetofauna and typical mediterranean also.

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The Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) has the largest range among the genus Podarcis. Although there are a number of studies on its diet, data on regional level remains insufficient, particularly from a purely ecological perspective. We investigated 194 individual faecal samples of P. muralis obtained from two localities in western Bulgaria with the aim of clarifying the composition of the trophic spectrum of the species, as well as the intra-population characteristics in terms of age and sex. In one study site, we compared the realized trophic niche (prey items from the faecal pellets) with the fundamental (invertebrates collected via pit-fall traps exposure). We confirmed that P. muralis is an opportunist in terms of feeding and has a very wide trophic spectrum including several taxa, which have not been reported until now as a part of the species’ diet. We revealed differences in feeding behavior between subadults and adults, as well as between males and females. Adults have higher diversity in the food spectrum compared to subadults. According to sexes, females have more varied diet. We also report for the first time for the species six cases of keratophagy. Also, we identified a relatively frequent occurrence of saurophagy (n = 16), including in females and subadults, for which this phenomenon has not been recorded so far.

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Islands provide a great system to explore the processes that maintain genetic diversity and promote local adaptation. We explored the genomic diversity of the Balearic lizard Podarcis lilfordi, an endemic species characterized by numerous small insular popula- tions with large phenotypic diversity. Using the newly available genome for this species, we characterized more than 300,000 SNPs, merging genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) data with previously published restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-Seq) data, providing a dataset of 16 island populations (191 individuals) across the range of species distribution (Menorca, Mallorca, and Cabrera). Results indicate that each islet hosts a well-differentiated population (FST = 0.247 ± 0.09), with no recent immigration/ translocation events. Contrary to expectations, most populations harbor a considerable genetic diversity (mean nucleotide diversity, Pi = 0.144 ± 0.021), characterized by overall low inbreeding values (FIS < 0.1). While the genetic diversity significantly decreased with decreasing islet surface, maintenance of substantial genetic diversity even in tiny islets suggests variable selection or other mechanisms that buffer genetic drift. Maximum- likelihood tree based on concatenated SNP data confirmed the existence of the two major independent lineages of Menorca and Mallorca/Cabrera. Multiple lines of evi- dence, including admixture and root testing, robustly placed the origin of the species in the Mallorca Island, rather than in Menorca. Outlier analysis mainly retrieved a strong signature of genome differentiation between the two major archipelagos, especially in the sexual chromosome Z. A set of proteins were target of multiple outliers and primar- ily associated with binding and catalytic activity, providing interesting candidates for future selection studies. This study provides the framework to explore crucial aspects of the genetic basis of phenotypic divergence and insular adaptation.

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Algeria is situated at the crossroads between Europe and Africa. The northern part of the country is listed as an area of high biodiversity. Currently, the ecosystems (rivers, lakes, deserts, forests etc.) and the species are under more pressure than ever. The impact of humans is significant and many factors constitute a strong threat to this fauna, especially reptiles, which are the most vulnerable because of their low mobility. Thus, pollution, the drying up of wetlands and their conversion to agriculture have clearly affected the existence of many species. The herpetofauna of Algeria is one of the most diversified in the Mediterranean Basin, consisting of 104 species of which 16.98% are endemic. We suppose that the present list of reptilian fauna provided in this paper is not exhaustive and it is expected to include more species given the lack of research on reptiles in Algeria and its large area. Our dataset contains information on reptile occurrences in Algeria. The dataset is based on original research by the staff of the Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Agroecology of Chadli Bendjedid University in Algeria. The conservation status of all recorded species is given.

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During two visits to the northeastern part of the Greek island of Lefkada, one in October 2022 and another in June 2023, 14 species of herpetofauna were recorded (two amphibian species, twelve reptile species), including one previously unrecorded species, the European cat snake Telescopus fallax. In addition, live specimens of Marginated tortoise Testudo marginata were found and location data for Dahl’s whip snake Platyceps najadum has been recorded. The observation localities of four species, Testudo hermanni, Testudo marginata, Platyceps najadum and Telescopus fallax are shown in an overview map.

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During our collecting trip to Guangxi in 2016, we collected ten specimens of the genus Takydromus from the suburb of Guilin, northeastern Guangxi, South China, and found that they did not belong to any currently known species. Here, we described this new species, Takydromus guilinensis sp. nov., based on morphological and mitochondrial DNA (CO1 and cyt b) data. This new species is a sister taxon to T. intermedius with a p-distance of 0.070 in CO1 and 0.080 in cyt b. These two p-distances exceed not only the minimum value (0.067) between /i>T. septentrionalis and T. stejnegeri but also the minimum value (0.079) between T. intermedius and T. yunkaiensis. Morphologically, this new species differs from other currently recognized Takydromus species from the same clade, more evidently in the longitudinal rows of dorsal scales, transverse rows of scales at the mid-body and mensural variables. The description of Takydromus guilinensis sp. nov. increases the total number of Takydromus species to 25, of which 16 can be found in China. Takydromus guilinensis sp. nov. is currently known only from Guilin, Guangxi, South China, where it is sympatric with the other four Takydromus species (T. septentrionalis, T. kuehnei, T. sexlineatus and T. intermedius).