Carniolan lizard Zootoca carniolica (Reptilia: Squamata: Lacertidae) in Croatia: implication on species conservation
Authors: Irena Grbac, Martina Podnar, Boris Lauš, Bruno Schmidt
Authors and affiliation
Abstract
Accurate species distribution data are essential for effective conservation planning, which requires taxonomic identification. We conducted molecular and morphological analyses, which revealed that the Carniolan lizard Zootoca carniolica Mayer, Böhme, Tiedemann and Bischoff, 2000 has been largely overlooked in Croatia as records were previously attributed to the Viviparous lizard Z. vivipara (Lichtenstein, 1823) or the Pannonian viviparous lizard Z. v. pannonica (Lac & Kluch, 1968). Z. vivipara has been listed in the national fauna of Croatia, and Z. v. pannonica was listed as a species monitored and reported by Croatia under Article 17 of the European Habitat Directive. We analysed genetic (mitochondrial COI and cytb genes), morphological (differences in the ratio of mean ventral scale rows and number of femoral pores) and distributional data of the Croatian population. Our findings indicate that Z. carniolica, not Z. vivipara, is the species present in Croatia. However, given the limited sample size, we cannot exclude the possible occurrence of Z. vivipara in Croatia. Consequently, the occurrence of Z. carniolica entails conservation and management implications that differ from earlier assumptions. We emphasize the need for further studies involving a significantly larger number of samples to confirm these findings.
Keywords
Lacertidae, mt DNA, morphology, distribution, conservation