Iberolacerta

Iberolacerta
Iberolacerta monticola
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Infraorder: Scincomorpha
Family: Lacertidae
Genus: Iberolacerta
Arribas, 1999
Species

8, see below.

Iberolacerta is a genus of lizards in the family Lacertidae. The genus contains at least eight described species, which are mainly found in Spain and France. Iberolacerta horvathi (Horvath's rock lizard) has a wider geographic range, being distributed in Central Europe.

Distribution

The species of Iberolacerta are distinct and mainly found in the western Europe mountain ranges.[1] Iberolacerta species found in Germany could have possibly been caused by human introduction, and are thus controversial.[1] For example, I. horvathi had been encountered in southern Germany, but has not been encountered thereafter.[1]

Features

This group of lizards contains widely distributed features such as: a depressed head and body; 7–9 premaxillary teeth; ~26 presacral vertebrae (for males); inscriptional ribs; tail brightly colored in hatchlings.[1]

Some of the lizards in this genus contains specific features such as: rostral and frontonasal scales; one postanal scale; supranasal and anterior loreal scales; 36 or less macro chromosomes; egg-laid embryos somewhat developed.[1]

Size and shape

Small species are up to ~85 mm long, but all species have shown to have females are larger than the male.[1]

The skull contains 7-9 premaxillary teeth, no pterygoid teeth, and slender nasal process.[1] In addition there is a separation between the frontal bone and postorbital bone.[1]
Iberolacerta contains presacral vertebrae that differ upon sex.[1] Males presacral vertebrae can range from 25-26, white the larger females presacral vertebrae can range from 26-29.[1] Both sex also contain an average of 6 posterior presacral vertebrae with relatively short ribs. The tail vertebrae can contain the common A-type pattern or less common B-type pattern.[1]
The coloring on the dorsal side contains stripes, bands, and spots near or on where the vertebral column is located.[1] The coloring on the ventral side are white, light yellow, deep orange, or green.[1] The tails of juveniles are often bright green or blue.[1]
Contains a diploid (2n) number of autosomes ranging from 36 and below.[1] The sex chromosomes come in two different types depending on number of Z chromosomes that are species specific: ZW-type or Z1Z2W-type.[1] The chromosomes also can contain nucleolar organizer in large macrochromosomes, termed L-type, or in a medium macrochromosome, termed M-type.[1]
During copulation the male bites and latches to the flanks of the females, allowing the fertilization of ~3–10 eggs.[1] In newly laid eggs the embryos are somewhat developed, and range depending on species from ~23 to 36 days until hatching.[1]
These lizards tend to be found as solid surface rock dwellers but can be found associated with small loose stones.[1]

Species

I. aranica is located in the central Pyrenean Mountains of France and Spain.[2] The populations of this species are due to the rocky alpine habitats.[2] The population trend of this species is decreasing.[2] Image.
I. aurelioi is located in the Pyrenees Mountains on the border of Andorra, France, and Spain.[3] This species has a population size that ranges from approximately 10-200 individuals.[3] The population trend for this species is decreasing.[3] Image.
I. bonnali is located in the central Pyrenean Mountains of France and Spain.[4] Populations are present in suitable habitats and fragmented in unsuitable habitats.[4] The population trend of this species is stable.[4] Image.
I. cyreni is located in the central mountains of Spain in the Sierra de Bejar, Sierra de Gredos, La Serrota and Sierra del Guadarrama.[5] Populations of this species are common in particular areas.[5] The population trend for this species is decreasing.[5] Image.
I. galani is located in the Spain regions of Sierra Segundera, Sierra de la Cabrera, Sierra del Eje or Peña Trevinca and Sierra del TelenoOscar.[6] The populations of these species are copious.[6] The population trend of this species is unknown.[6] Image.
I. horvathi is located in the mountain ranges of southern Austria, northeastern Italy, western Slovenia, and western Croatia.[7] Populations of this species are locally copious.[7] The population trend for this species is stable.[7] Image.
I. martinezricai is located in the Spain region of Sierra Segundera, Salamanca.[8] The populations of these species are very rare since most populations are located at the peak of the mountain.[8] The population trend of this species is decreasing.[8] Image.
I. monticola is located in the Spain region of the Cantabrian Mountains and Galicia, also located in the central Portugal region of Serra de Estrela.[9] The populations of these species occur when habitats are suitable, although they are very localized.[9] The population trend of this species is decreasing.[9] Image.

Evolution

Speciation theory caused by mountain ranges and Pleistocene glacial cycles: It is believed that many of the Iberolacerta genus had led to many speciation seen today because of the Pleistocene glacial cycles and Holocene habitat fragmentation.[10] For example, I. monticola has been studied to determine its cause of speciation. There was an analysis of 17 I. monticola population's mitochondrial DNA sequences, at a control region and cytochrome b loci, throughout the northwestern quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula.[11] The results these researchers data gathered lead to the conclusion that correlated to a “refugia within refugia” model since the comparative phylogeographic analyses had shown consistent genetic subdivisions patterns.[11] This suggested that the mountain ranges could potentially be the cause of the descending species of Iberolacerta.[11] It was also hypothesized that the Holocene epoch then represented a long-term survival inflexion point for the derived species not to survive the preceding glacial cycle.[11]

Reproduction

  • Age classes
Full sexual maturation is seen at approximately five calendar years.[12] Additionally, female sexual maturity takes longer than males.[12] Some of these species were found to be 17 years old.[12]
  • Adult size and sexual maturity
Males are characteristically smaller than females.[12] The smallest male I. aurelioi measured to be 45.1 mm.[12] Males reach sexual maturity when they contain sexual secondary characteristics such as a swollen tail-base caused by the development of the hemipenes.[12] Females reach sexual maturity when they contain sexual secondary characteristics such as large oviductal eggs.[12]
  • Phenology, mating, egg-laying period
They come out of hibernation in mid-May and go back into hibernation in mid-September.[12] They have an approximate 4.5–5-month annual activity period.[12]
  • Copulation is characterized by a male grasping to the female's flank.[12]
  • The common egg-laying period ranges anywhere from June to July.[12]
  • Egg-laying behavior
Females dig a compact optimal space under a stone using their forelegs and head and then lay the eggs in the small hole.[12] After laying the eggs the female's stomach shrinks and flattens immediately.[12]
  • Clutch size
I. aurelioi lays one clutch per year (monoestrous), that have a common 2–3-egg clutch size.[12]
  • Metric egg characteristic
For optimal viable offspring, the female contains two competing strategies for the clutch size and egg volume.[12] An increase in egg volume would allow better survival and fitness advantages while an increase in clutch size allows for more offspring.[12]
  • Egg-laying sites
Eggs are deposited under stones since it has protective barriers and doesn’t allow much heat to escape.[12]
  • Incubation period
I. aurelioi eggs have a mean incubation period of approximately 5 weeks in the lab.[12] In one study, 64% of the studied eggs successfully hatched into viable offspring.[12] In nature, offspring hatch from mid-August till mid-September.[12]
  • Hatching process and characteristics
The hatching duration process varies widely from 1 to 12 hours after the first cut in the egg-shell.[12] Hatchlings have an average body mass of ~0.49 g.[12]
  • Hatchlings’ behavior
Hatchlings are comparatively lively and perceptive compared to adults.[12] In the first few days of life the young offspring have a competitive advantage since they have the ability to distract predators by viciously winding the colorful tip of their tail.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 13. Arnold, E. N., O. Arribas, and S. Carranza (March 2007). “Systematics of the Palaearctic and Oriental lizard tribe Lacertini (Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacertinae), with descriptions of eight new genera”. Zootaxa 1430: 44-66. ISBN 978-1-86977-097-6 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-86977-098-3
  2. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Patrick Haffner. 2009. Iberolacerta aranica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014
  3. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano. 2009. Iberolacerta aurelioi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014
  4. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano. 2009. Iberolacerta bonnali. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano. 2009. Iberolacerta cyreni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Arribas. 2009. Iberolacerta galani. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Milan Vogrin, Wolfgang Böhme, Pierre-André Crochet, Hans Konrad Nettmann, Roberto Sindaco, Antonio Romano. 2009. Iberolacerta horvathi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano. 2009. Iberolacerta martinezricai. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Marc Cheylan, Iñigo Martínez-Solano. 2009. Iberolacerta monticola. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Crochet PA, Chaline O, Surget-Groba Y, Debain C, Cheylan M (2004) "Speciation in mountains: phylogeography and phylogeny of the rock lizards genus Iberolacerta (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". Mol Phylogenet Evol 30: 860–866
  11. 1 2 3 4 Remon, N., P. Galan, M. Villa, O. Arribas and H. Naveira (June 2013). “Causes and evolutionary consequences of population subdivision of an Iberian mountain lizard, Iberolacerta monticola”. PLoS One 8 (6): 1-15. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066034. PMCID: PMC3676366.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Arribas, O. (June 2004). “Characteristics of the reproductive biology of Iberolacerta aurelioi (ARRIBAS, 1994)”. Herpetozoa 17 (1/2): 3-18.
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