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3,538 results for “Lizard”
Data from: A hybrid phylogenetic–phylogenomic approach for species tree estimation in African Agama lizards with applications to biogeography, character evolution, and diversification
Africa is renowned for its biodiversity and endemicity, yet little is known about the factors shaping them across the continent. African Agama lizards (45 species) have a pan-continental distribution, making them an ideal model for investigating biogeography. Many species have evolved conspicuous sexually dimorphic traits, including extravagant breeding coloration in adult males, large adult male body sizes, and variability in social systems among colorful versus drab species. We present a comprehensive time-calibrated species tree for Agama, and their close relatives, using a hybrid phylogenetic-phylogenomic approach that combines traditional Sanger sequence data from five loci for 57 species (146 samples) with anchored phylogenomic data from 215 nuclear genes for 23 species. The Sanger data are analyzed using coalescent-based species tree inference using *BEAST, and the resulting posterior distribution of species trees is attenuated using the phylogenomic tree as a backbone constraint. The result is a time-calibrated species tree for Agama that includes 95% of all species, multiple samples for most species, strong support for the major clades, and strong support for most of the initial divergence events. Diversification within Agama began approximately 23 million years ago (Ma), and separate radiations in Southern, East, West, and Northern Africa have been diversifying for > 10 Myr. A suite of traits (morphological, coloration, and sociality) are tightly correlated and show a strong signal of high morphological disparity within clades, whereby the subsequent evolution of convergent phenotypes has accompanied diversification into new biogeographic areas.
Data from: Lizards on ice: evidence for multiple refugia in Liolaemus pictus (Liolaemidae) during the Last Glacial Maximum in the southern Andean beech forests
Historical climate changes and orogenesis are two important factors that have shaped intraspecific biodiversity patterns worldwide. Although southern South America has experienced such complex events, there is a paucity of studies examining the effects on intraspecific diversification in this part of the world. Liolaemus pictus is the southernmost distributed lizard in the Chilean temperate forest, whose genetic structure has likely been influenced by Pleistocene glaciations. We conducted a phylogeographic study of L. pictus in Chile and Argentina based on one mitochondrial and two nuclear genes, and recovered two strongly divergent groups, Northern and Southern clades, the former distributed from the northernmost limit of the species to the Araucanía region, and the latter being distributed throughout the Andes and the Chiloé archipelago in Southern Chile. Our results suggest that L. pictus originated 751 Kya, with divergence between the two clades occurring in the late Pleistocene. Demographic reconstructions for the Northern and Southern clades indicate a decrease in effective population sizes likely associated with Pleistocene glaciations. Surprisingly, patterns of genetic variation, clades ages and historical gene flow in populations distributed within the limits of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are not explained by recent colonization. We propose an "intra-Andean multiple refuge" hypothesis, along with the classical refuge hypothesis previously proposed for the biota of the Chilean Coastal range and Eastern Andean Cordillera. Our hypothesis is supported by niche modeling analysis suggesting the persistence of fragments of suitable habitat for the species within the limits of the LGM ice shield. This type of refuge hypothesis is proposed for the first time for an ectothermic species.
Data from: Species delimitation with ABC and other coalescent-based methods: a test of accuracy with simulations and an empirical example with lizards of the Liolaemus darwinii complex (Squamata: Liolaemidae)
Species delimitation is a major research focus in evolutionary biology because accurate species boundaries are a prerequisite for the study of speciation. New species delimitation methods (SDMs) can accommodate non-monophyletic species and gene tree discordance as a result of incomplete lineage sorting via the coalescent model, but do not explicitly accommodate gene flow after divergence. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) can incorporate gene flow and estimate other relevant parameters of the speciation process while testing alternative species delimitation hypotheses. We evaluated the accuracy of BPP, SpeDeSTEM, and ABC for delimiting species using simulated data and applied these methods to empirical data from lizards of the Liolaemus darwinii complex. Overall, BPP was the most accurate, ABC showed an intermediate accuracy, and SpeDeSTEM was the least accurate under most simulated conditions. All three SDMs showed lower accuracy when speciation occurred despite gene flow, as found in previous studies, but ABC was the method with the smallest decrease in accuracy. All three SDMs consistently supported the distinctness of southern and northern lineages within L. darwinii. These SDMs based on genetic data should be complemented with novel SDMs based on morphological and ecological data to achieve truly integrative and statistically robust approaches to species discovery.
Data from - A new tale of lost tails: correlates of tail breakage in the worm lizard Amphisbaena vermicularis
Predator-prey interactions are important evolutionary drivers of defensive behaviours, but they are usually difficult to record. This lack of data on natural history and ecological interactions of species can be overcome through museum specimens, at least for some reptiles. When facing aggressive interactions, reptile species may exhibit the defensive behaviour of autotomy by losing the tail, which is also known as 'urotomy'. The inspection of preserved specimens for scars of tail breakage can reveal possible ecological and biological correlates of urotomy. Herein we investigated how the probability of urotomy in the worm lizard <i>Amphisbaena vermicularis</i> is affected by sex, body size, temperature, and precipitation. We found higher chances of urotomy for specimens with larger body size and from localities with warmer temperatures or lower precipitation. There was no difference in urotomy frequency between sexes. Older specimens likely faced – and survived – more predation attempts through their lifetime than smaller ones. Specimens from warmer regions might be more active both below- and aboveground, increasing the odds to encounter predators, and hence urotomy. Probability of urotomy decreased with increased precipitation. Possibly, in places with heavier rainfall worm lizards come more frequently to the surface when galleries are filled with rainwater, remaining more exposed to efficient predators, which could result in less survival rates and fewer tailless specimens. This interesting defensive behaviour is widespread in squamates, but yet little understood among amphisbaenians. The novel data presented here improve our understanding on the correlates of tail breakage and help us to interpret more tales of lost tails.
Data from: Molecular detection of invertebrate prey in vertebrate diets: trophic ecology of Caribbean island lizards
Understanding community assembly and population dynamics frequently requires detailed knowledge of food web structure. For many consumers, obtaining precise information about diet composition has traditionally required sacrificing animals or other highly invasive procedures, generating tension between maintaining intact study populations and knowing what they eat. We developed 16S mitochondrial DNA sequencing methods to identify arthropods in the diets of generalist vertebrate predators without requiring a blocking primer. We demonstrate the utility of these methods for a common Caribbean lizard that has been intensively studied in the context of small island food webs: Anolis sagrei (a semi-arboreal 'trunk-ground' anole ecomorph). Novel PCR primers were identified in silico and tested in vitro. Illumina sequencing successfully characterized the arthropod component of 168 faecal DNA samples collected during three field trips spanning 12 months, revealing 217 molecular operational taxonomic units (mOTUs) from at least nine arthropod orders (including Araneae, Blattodea, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera). Three mOTUs (one beetle, one cockroach and one ant) were particularly frequent, occurring in ≥50% of samples, but the majority of mOTUs were infrequent (180, or 83%, occurred in ≤5% of samples). Species accumulation curves showed that dietary richness and composition were similar between size-dimorphic sexes; however, female lizards had greater per-sample dietary richness than males. Overall diet composition (but not richness) was significantly different across seasons, and we found more pronounced interindividual variation in December than in May. These methods will be generally useful in characterizing the diets of diverse insectivorous vertebrates.
Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during twilight suggests anticipatory behaviour
<p>Anticipatory behaviour is the expectation of a near-future event based on information processed in the past and influences an animal's tactical decisions, particularly when there are significant fitness consequences. The grass lizard (<i>Takydromus viridipunctatus</i>) perches on blades of grass at night which likely reduces the probability of predation by terrestrial predators such as snakes, rodents, and shrews. During twilight (starting 30 mins before sunrise) they move from above the grass to within grass clumps and this is thought to afford the lizard protection while reducing detection by avian predators. Here, we examined how lizards shift their behaviour as a function of visual detectability to their primary predator, the cattle egret (<i>Bubulcus ibis</i>). We show that the lizards shift from their perch site during twilight at the earliest time at which egrets depart communal roosts. At the same time, visual modelling shows a dramatic increase in detectability of the lizards to the visual system of egrets. Therefore, anticipatory behaviour in response to environmental cues acts to reduce predation risk as lizards become more conspicuous and predators become more active. Grass lizard anticipatory behaviour appears to be finely tuned by natural selection to adjust to temporal changes in predation risk.</p>
Linking behavioural thermoregulation, boldness and individual state in male Carpetan rock lizards
<p>Mechanisms affecting consistent inter-individual behavioural variation (i.e. animal personality) are of wide scientific interest. In poikilotherms, ambient temperature is one of the most important environmental factors with a direct link to a variety of fitness-related traits. Recent empirical evidence suggests that individual differences in boldness are linked to behavioural thermoregulation strategy in heliothermic species, as individuals are regularly exposed to predators during basking. Here, we tested for links between behavioural thermoregulation strategy, boldness and individual state in adult males of the high mountain Carpetan rock lizard (<i>Iberolacerta cyreni</i>). Principal Component Analysis revealed the following latent links in our data: (i) a positive relationship of activity with relative limb length and colour brightness (PC1, 23% variation explained), (ii) a negative relationship of thermoregulatory precision with parasite load and risk-taking (PC2, 20.98% variation explained) and (iii) a negative relationship between preferred body temperature and relative limb length (PC3, 19.23% variation explained). We conclude that differences in boldness and behavioural thermoregulatory strategy could be explained by both stable and labile state variables. The moderate link between behavioural thermoregulatory strategy and risk-taking personality in our system is plausibly the result of differences in reproductive state of individuals or variation in ecological conditions during the breeding season.</p>
Figure 1 in Distribution of the meadow lizard in Europe and its realized ecological niche model
Figure 1. Distribution map of the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola) in south-eastern Europe given on an MGRS UTM 10 × 10 km grid scale. A small overview map shows the study region and the two separate parts of the meadow lizard distribution – separate geographic units and evolutionary lineages of the species (modified from Agasyan et al. 2009). Letters on the distribution map refer to the names of larger (100 × 100 km) MGRS squares. Occurrence records were compiled from a large literature survey and our own data (see Supplemental material 1) and classified on the map according to the time frame of the findings.
Figure 2 in Distribution of the meadow lizard in Europe and its realized ecological niche model
Figure 2. Habitat suitability maps for the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola) in south-eastern Europe given separately for the low resolution (a) and the high resolution ecological niche model (b). Training points used for fitting the ecological niche models are represented with white dots, while the discarded occurrences are shown as '×' signs and placed for the overall visual representation of the model accuracy.
Figure 3 in Distribution of the meadow lizard in Europe and its realized ecological niche model
Figure 3. Examples showing details from the forest cover (Vegetation Continuous Fields layer) and the Maxent's habitat suitability map for the meadow lizard (Darevskia praticola). The maps show two localities: (a) a part of a fragmented forest area in southern Romania where the species occurs, and (b) an area near the Danube River along the border between Serbia and Romania, which is one of the places of greater habitat suitability for this species. The maps also show the difference between the low (upper images) and high (lower images) resolution of both the VCF layer and the habitat suitability.
Figure 11 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 11. Habitat of Neusticurus arekuna sp. nov. (a) Type locality on the summit of Angasimatepui, Venezuela (looking east, May 2011). (b) Stream on the southern slope of the Serra Pacaraima, Roraima state, Brazil (May 2011). Photos PJRK (a) and SMS (b).
Figure 12 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 12. Variation in the Neusticurus arekuna clade. (a) Male N. arekuna UCS 1 from Abakapá-tepui, Venezuela (IRSNB18150). (b) Female N. arekuna UCS 3 from Auyán-tepui (IRSNB18455). (c) Male N. arekuna UCS 1 from Chivatón, Venezuela (IRSNB18452). (d) Female N. arekuna UCS 2 from La Escalera, Venezuela (IRSNB18111). Photos PJRK.
Figure 10 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 10. Variation among paratypes of Neusticurus arekuna sp. nov. (a) Female holotype in life (IRSNB2687). (b) Male paratype from Pacaraima, Brazil, in life (MZUSP106223). (c) Female paratype from Pacaraima, Brazil, in life (MZUSP106224). (d) Female paratype from Pacaraima, Brazil, in life (MZUSP106227). Photos PJRK (a), SMS (b–d).
Figure 9 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 9. Holotype of Neusticurus arekuna sp. nov. (IRSNB2687) in preservative (a) Ventral view of head. (b) Lateral view of head. (c) Dorsal view of head. (d) Ventral view of body. (e) Dorsal view of body. Photos PJRK.
Figure 8. Neusticurus rudis UCS 2 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 8. Neusticurus rudis UCS 2 from Iwokrama, Guyana. (a) ventral view of a male immediately after euthanasia (IRSN18440). (b) ventral view of a female immediately after euthanasia (IRSNB18441). Photos PJRK.
Figure 7 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 7. Variation in the Neusticurus rudis clade. (a) Male N. rudis UCS 1 from Kaieteur National Park, Guyana (IRSNB17344). (b) Male N. rudis UCS 2 from Iwokrama, Guyana (IRSNB18443). (c) Male N. rudis UCS 1 from Kaieteur National Park, Guyana (IRSNB17345). (d) Female N. rudis UCS 2 from Iwokrama, Guyana (IRSNB18441). Photos PJRK.
Figure 4 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 4. Neusticurus rudis sensu stricto in life. (a) Male from the slopes of Maringma-tepui (IRSNB18146). (b) Female from the slopes of Maringma-tepui (IRSNB18438). Photos PJRK.
Figure 3 in Mitochondrial genetic variation within and between Holbrookia lacerata lacerata and Holbrookia lacerata subcaudalis, the spot-tailed earless lizards of Texas
Figure 3. Hind limb blotches of (a) Holbrookia lacerata lacerata (UTA R 63333) and (b) H. l. subcaudalis (UTA R 63303). In H. l. lacerata, most blotches are oblong and fused into bands. In H. l. subcaudalis, blotches are ellipsoid.
Figure 6 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 6. Sexual dimorphism and habitat of Neusticurus rudis sensu stricto. (a) Dorsal face of a male immediately after euthanasia (IRSNB18435). (b) Dorsal view of a female immediately after euthanasia (IRSNB18436). (c) Ventral view of a male immediately after euthanasia (IRSNB18435). (d) Ventral view of a female immediately after euthanasia (IRSNB18436). (e) Habitat along the Ataro river, Guyana (November 2007). Photos PJRK.
Figure 2 in Integrative taxonomy of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus rudis Boulenger, 1900 identifies a new species in the eastern Pantepui region, north-eastern South America
Figure 2. Bayesian tree of Pantepui Neusticurus obtained from the concatenated data set (left) and DensiTree representation of the species tree obtained from the *BEAST analysis (right). Numbers and colours correspond to those in Figure 1. Examined hemipenes are illustrated in front of the corresponding populations. Hemipenial drawing modified from Myers and Donnelly (2008). DensiTree representation: the most popular tree is blue; the next most popular tree is red; the third most popular tree is green. Asterisks indicate high posterior probabilities (values ≥ 99%). UCS = unconfirmed candidate species. Photos of hemipenes PMSN.
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