iran contains 36 named endemic reptile species in 17 genera and seven families. the most endemic and speciose family is the gekkonidae, followed by the lacertidae. these two families collectively dominate with 22 species (or 60.1%) of the total endemic herpetofauna. twenty one endemics are known only from a single location or restricted area within a single physiographic region. an analysis of ...

Fossils provide a glimpse into the architecturally complex origins of modern vertebrate body plans. One such origin that has been long debated is that of turtles. Although much attention has been directed toward the origin of the shell, the enigmatic evolution of the turtle skull and its anapsid temporal region has long clouded our understanding of reptile phylogeny. Two taxa, Eunotosaurus afri...

Phylogenetic reconstruction in molecular systematics has largely been achieved using mitochondrial gene sequences and less frequently sequences of nuclear ribosomal RNA genes. At present few other nuclear genes have been identified that could be used to test these phylogenies. C-mos, a single-copy nuclear oncogene, has been identified as a candidate nuclear marker. Data are presented on the use...

We present the first genomic-scale analysis addressing the phylogenetic position of turtles, using over 1000 loci from representatives of all major reptile lineages including tuatara. Previously, studies of morphological traits positioned turtles either at the base of the reptile tree or with lizards, snakes and tuatara (lepidosaurs), whereas molecular analyses typically allied turtles with cro...

INTRODUCTION In general, performing surgery on a reptile patient should be approached with the same principles as those used for domestic animals. However, there are some specific anatomical considerations, as well as unique aspects of patient preparation, positioning and equipment with which the reptile clinician should be familiar. Surgical coeliotomy provides access to most of the major inte...

Pet reptiles have increased in popularity in the United States to the extent that 3% of households now contain these animals. The most common pet reptile is the iguana, and the most common of these lizards is the green iguana (Iguana iguana). As the popularity of these creatures in US households continues to grow, so will the threat of bites. To date, little North American medical literature ha...

Tree felling around a chicken coop and periodic insecticide spraying at the Palmital farm in the county of Terra Boa in southern Brazil impacted the ecology of sand fly species. The most prevalent species (51.6%) before clearing the trees and insecticide spraying was Lutzomyia migonei (França, 1920), and it is now Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) (89.8%). There was a hi...