The correct name for the North African rock lizard is Agama bibronii A. Duméril in Duméril & Duméril, 1851, not Agama impalearis Boettger, 1874 (Reptilia, Squamata)

Over half a century ago, Mertens (1955) noted that the name Agama bibronii A. Duméril in Duméril & Duméril, 1851 for a North African agamid lizard species was preoccupied by Trapelus (Psammorrhoa) bibronii Fitzinger, 1843, a species inhabiting South Africa. He consequently stated that the next available name for Agama bibronii ‘Duméril, 1851’, namely Agama colonorum var. impalearis Boettger, 1874 should be applied to this taxon. Until today, the herpetological literature contains examples where either Agama bibronii ‘Duméril, 1851’ or Agama impalearis Boettger, 1874 is used to denominate the North African rock agama. However, an apparently overlooked ruling by the Commission suppressed the name Trapelus (Psammorrhoa) bibronii Fitzinger, 1843, so that Agama bibronii A. Duméril in Duméril & Duméril, 1851 is the valid name for the North African rock agama.

On limits of the distribution range of the Crimean rock lizard Darevskia lindholmi (Sauria: Lacertidae)

New data on the boundaries of the distribution range of the Lindholm rock lizard (Darevskia lindholmi), an endemic of the Crimean Peninsula, are presented. This petrophilous lizard inhabit a wide range of biotopes in various landscape levels of the Mountainous Crimea. The upper boundary of D. lindholmi distribution in the southwest of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains reaches an elevation of 1,520 m a.s.l. (Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla, KemalEgerek Mountain), while on the other high uplands with altitudes above 1.5 km and colder climate (Babugan and Chatyrdag), the species was traced only up to 1,250–1,320 m a.s.l. The northern border of D. lindholmi range in the western part of the Crimean Mountains runs along the Outer Foothill Range (the right bank of the Alma River), while in the eastern part it corresponds the northernmost rocky massifs of the Inner Foothill Range to the north of 45º N latitude. Isolated marginal populations found in the forest-steppe or phrygana-steppe landscapes of the Foothills and arid Southeastern Coast differs significantly in their distance from the main habitat of the species, lizards’ abundance and density. A hypothetical history of the formation of the current range of the Lindholm lizard is discussed.

The mitochondrial phylogeography of the Crimean endemic lizard Darevskia lindholmi (Sauria, Lacertidae): Hidden diversity in an isolated mountain system

The Lindholm rock lizard, Darevskia lindholmi, is the only member of the genus Darevskia whose range is restricted solely to Europe, representing a local endemism found only in the Crimean Mountains. In our study, we investigated the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) of 101 D. lindholmi sequences from 65 Crimean localities, representing its entire range. We found that D. lindholmi is highly genetically structured, and its range is divided into populations belonging to three mitochondrial lineages. The Lindholm rock lizard populations inhabiting the middle part of the Crimean Mountains (further referred to as the Central lineage) are sharply differentiated from the other two lineages (the Common and the Southwestern lineages), which are present in most of the species range. The genetic distance between the Central lineage and the other two taken together is 4.6%, according to our results, suggesting that the divergence occurred during the Early Pleistocene. The narrowly distributed Southwestern lineage and the widespread Common lineage, on the other hand, are differentiated by 1%. Field observations on the representatives of the main evolutionary groups show that their ecology is also different: the Central lineage is a mesophilic and cold-resistant form, while the other two closely related lineages are more xerophilic and thermophilic. Results of the potential ranges modeling and ecological niche analysis confirm that the genetic lineages occupy different niches of the Crimea. Furthermore, the area of inhabitation of the Central lineage splits the western and eastern parts of the Common lineage range, while the Southwestern lineage is restricted along the coast of the southwestern coast of the peninsula. The long-term co-existence of deeply divergent sister mitochondrial lineages in a relatively small (circa 7,000 km2) isolated mountain system serves as a mesocosm for understanding the speciation process. Our data suggest that the Central lineage warrants further taxonomic investigation.

Effects of sensory mode in prey discrimination and predatory behaviour of rock lizards

An essential part of foraging ecology is to understand the processes of detection, recognition and discrimination of prey, as well as the sensorial modalities involved. Often, predators do not rely on a single sensory system but on multiple interacting senses. Specifically, lizards mainly use vision and vomerolfaction for prey pursuit. Here, we used an experimental approach to study how the Carpetan rock lizard, Iberolacerta cyreni, responds to different types of stimuli (chemical, visual, or both combined) from two prey species. The number of individuals approaching the prey and the number of attacks differed between treatments, however, we did not find differences in latency time, number of individuals attacking the prey or number of tongue flicks. Our results suggested that visual cues combined with chemical stimuli enhanced detection of both prey species and that prey discrimination occurred posteriorly and independently of using any or both types of stimuli.