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Iberolacerta

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Iberolacerta
Iberolacerta monticola
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Lacertidae
Subfamily: Lacertinae
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

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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]

Morphological features

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This group of lizards contains certain features in common, including: 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]

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

Skull

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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]

Post-cranial skeleton

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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]

Coloring

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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]

Chromosome counts

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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]

Ecology

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These lizards tend to be found as solid surface rock dwellers but can be found associated with small loose stones.[1]

Species

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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

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c Arribas. 2009. Iberolacerta galani. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2014.
  7. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d 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. PMC 3676366.
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