the Lacertidae is one of the most diverse and widespread lizard families throughout Eurasia and Africa. Several studies so far have attempted to unravel the phylogeny of Lacertidae using morphological and molecular data. However, the intra-family relationships remain unclear. in an effort to explore the phylogenetic relationships within the family Lacertidae, a concatenated dataset of 5727 bp f...

For the first time the complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced for a member of Lacertidae. Lacerta viridis viridis was sequenced in order to compare the phylogenetic relationships of this family to other reptilian lineages. Using the long-polymerase chain reaction (long PCR) we characterized a mitochondrial genome, 17,156 bp long showing a typical vertebrate pattern with 13 protein coding g...

While global variation in taxonomic diversity is strongly linked to latitude, the extent to which morphological disparity follows geographical gradients is less well known. We estimated patterns of lineage diversification, morphological disparity and rates of phenotypic evolution in the Old World lizard family Lacertidae, which displays a nearly inverse latitudinal diversity gradient with decre...

s of the 13th Ordinary General Meeting of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica. Bonn, Germany, 27 September-2 October 2005. Luiselli, L., Capula, M., Corti, C., Lo Cascio, P. & PérezMellado, V. 2004. Preliminary data on the feeding ecology of Podarcis raffonei (Reptilia, Lacertidae), a threatened endemic lizard of the Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea). 223-229. In: Pérez-Mellado, V., Riera, N....

abstract squamata or scaled reptiles are the largest order of new reptiles including lizards, snakes and amphisbaenia. they have formed 95 precent of new reptiles. our goal is lizard biodiversity of torbat-e heydaryeh in razavi khorasan province. the study of lizards biodiversity of torbat-e heydaryeh in razavi khorasan province was carried out in 2012 until 2013. in this research 132 specimens...

A new tandemly repeated (satellite) DNA family namely Agi160, from Lacerta agilis and Lacerta strigata (Lacerta sensu stricto (s. str.), Linnaeus 1758) have been cloned and sequenced. Agi160 is found in the above two species, as well as two other representatives of the same genus, L. viridis and L. media. DNA hybridization did not reveal it in Darevskia, Podarcis, Zootoca, Eremias, Ophisops, an...

We used pitfall trapping to investigate the effects of elevation, plant density and soil structure on species diversity and the impact of these habitat factors on lizard habitat selectivity in the Qom Province in the Central Plateau of Iran. From a total of 12 1-ha plots, we captured 363 individuals of 15 species of lizards (six species of Lacertidae, five species of Agamidae, two species of Ge...

A phylogeny of the family Lacertidae was derived from mtDNA gene sequence data. Seventeen species, representing 16 currently recognized genera and subgenera, were included in the analysis. A total of 954 bp was obtained and aligned from 12S and 16S partial gene sequences. A preferred tree was selected based on weighted parsimony and functional ingroup and outgroup analyses. Decay analysis, boot...

We isolated and characterizated 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the rapid racerunner Eremias velox (Squamata: Lacertidae). The loci were screened in 37 E. velox individuals. The number of alleles ranged from 6 to 16. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.432 to 0.919, and the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.685 to 0.902. These microsatellite markers should prove useful for popul...

Sacrum and pelvis structure and development in four species of Lacertidae currently assigned to different genera are studied: Lacerta agilis, L. vivipara, L. saxicola, Podarcis muralis. Size, shape, and position relationships between the cartilaginous elements as well as patterns and sequence of chondrification and ossification are given. Two sacral segments are characterized by a number of mar...