Aspidoscelis costatus costatus (Squamata, Teiidae): high elevation clutch production for a population of whiptail lizards
| Autor: | Oswaldo Hernández-Gallegos, James M. Walker, Carlos Pérez-Almazán, Aldo Gómez-Benitez, Gisela Granados-González |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
clutch size
0106 biological sciences Avian clutch size Squamata Reptilia relative clutch mass Population Aspidoscelis 010607 zoology Zoology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Aspidoscelis costata costatus Central Mexico High elevation lcsh:Zoology Animalia Clutch lcsh:QL1-991 female size education Chordata Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics reproductive and urinary physiology Balsas Basin Whiptail Central Mexico clutch size female size Estado de México relative clutch mass education.field_of_study Teiidae biology Estado de México Balsas Basin Whiptail food and beverages biology.organism_classification embryonic structures behavior and behavior mechanisms Aspidoscelis costata Animal Science and Zoology |
| Zdroj: | Herpetozoa, Vol 33, Iss, Pp 131-137 (2020) Herpetozoa 33: 131-137 |
| Popis: | Clutch size and number of clutches per reproductive cycle are important life history traits that can be influenced by anatomical, physiological, evolutionary, and ecological factors. This report on the clutch size and number of clutches of an endemic Mexican whiptail lizard, Aspidoscelis costatus costatus (Cope, 1878), is based on a study of population at an unusually high elevation for a member of this genus. The study site is located in Ixtapan de la Sal, southeastern Estado de México, Central Mexico, at 2090 m a.s.l. Lizards were sampled in June 2006, and from May to July 2007, where females of Aspidoscelis costatus costatus were collected by hand along a drift fence. Female reproductive condition was evaluated based on abdominal palpation for presence of developing eggs; clutch size was determined by actual counts of either vitellogenic follicles or oviductal eggs. The smallest reproductive female was 77 mm snout-vent length; females produced a minimum of two clutches during the breeding season, the mean clutch size of 6.5 eggs (n = 33) was one of the largest reported for the genus. However, both length and width of its eggs, and the relative clutch mass have not been diminished by development of a large clutch. Additionally, comparisons of clutch size were undertaken within the polytypic A. costatus complex, within the genus Aspidoscelis, and between certain genera of whiptail lizards. This apparently represents the first study of whiptail lizards (genus Aspidoscelis), assessing the aforementioned reproductive characteristics, in a population above 2000 m. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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