In lizards, the eggs are produced within small regions of the ovary known as germinal beds (GBs); previous literature suggests that the number of GBs per ovary may be linked to life-history traits such as clutch size and breeding frequency. In the oviparous montane Australian skink Bassiana duperreyi, females produce a single clutch of 3 to 11 eggs each year. Our histological examination of ova...

1. Rising global temperatures are predicted to impact organisms in diverse ways. For ectotherms, recent broad-scale analyses have predicted global patterns of vulnerability to warming, with tropical species at higher risk of detrimental effects than temperate species. However, vulnerability results from complex interactions between environment, physiology and behaviour. For species that inhabit...

Abstract Ontogeny is expected to be a determinant factor affecting production of colour patches in lizards, while immune challenges or sudden weight loss may impair the maintenance pigment-based coloration within breeding season. We translocated males lizard Psammodromus algirus between two sampling plots that differed distance road, vegetation structure, and predator abundance. analysed variat...

Individual movement influences the spatial and social structuring of a population. Animals regularly use the same paths to move efficiently to familiar places, or to patrol and mark home ranges. We found that Australian sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa), a monogamous species with stable pair-bonds, repeatedly used the same paths within their home ranges and investigated whether path re-use functi...

Three new species of chigger mites, Eutrombicula cubensis sp. n. and E. anguliscuta sp. n. from lizards and bats, and E. leiocephali sp. n. from lizards, are described. One species, E. lipovskyana (Wolfenbarger, 1953), is recorded for the first time in Cuba. Data on distribution of E. alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910) in Cuba are reported.

Squamates (lizards and snakes) offer an exciting model system for research on the evolution of body form. A new phylogenetic study in BMC Evolutionary Biology of Australian lizards shows remarkable evolutionary lability in digit numbers among closely related species, but also highlights important challenges in this area.

Tropical and subtropical lizards of the genus Anolis were exposed to Bacillus sphaericus Neide strain 1593-4, which has been proposed as a safe entomopathogen specific for mosquitoes. No deleterious effects were observed in lizards exposed to live bacteria through intraperitoneal injection or aerosol spray. Bacteria were lost quickly from lizard livers but were detectable at least 37 days after...

The European common lizard (Lacerta vivipara) tolerates long periods at sub-zero temperatures, either in the supercooled or the frozen state. Both physiological conditions limit oxygen availability to tissues, compelling lizards to cope with potential oxidative stress during the transition from ischemic/anoxic conditions to reperfusion with aerated blood during recovery. To determine whether an...

While morphological and behavioral feeding specializations are obvious in many vertebrate groups, among lizards there appear to be few dietary specialists. By comparing the prey capture kinematics and overall feeding behavior in two highly specialized ant-eating lizards (Moloch horridus and Phrynosoma platyrhinos) with those of two closely related dietary generalists (Pogona vitticeps and Uma n...