Natura Croatica Issue number: Natura Croatica, Vol. 8 No.3

Fenetički odnosi između Lacerta caucasica, L. daghestanica i L. praticola (Reptilia, Lacertidae): multivarijantni trend u vanjskoj morfologiji

Authors: Evgeny S. Roitberg

Authors and affiliation

  • Evgeny S. Roitberg Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut & Museum A. König, Adenauerallee 160, D–53113 Bonn, Germany

Abstract

Based on 270 specimens from 7 populations of Lacerta alpina, L. caucasica, L. daghestanica and L. praticola, morphological relationships between the four species were studied for 7 meristic characters and 5 morphometric characters, using canonical variate analysis. In both scalation and morphometry, the contours and centroids of the studied populations form a trend: L. praticola – L. caucasica – L. daghestanica, which represents the main direction of phenetic differentiation between the studied taxa (60–80% of the total among-group variation). Possible factors, determining this trend, as well as the problem of evolutionary polarity in the morphological series of the three species are discussed.

Keywords

Squamata: Lacertidae: Lacerta caucasica, Lacerta daghestanica, Lacerta praticola, morpho- logical variation

PDF File