Search results for "Podarcis muralis"

Colours of quality: structural (but not pigment) coloration informs about male quality in a polychromatic lizard

2014

Chromatic signals result from the differential absorption of light by chemical compounds (pigment-based colours) and/or from differential scattering of light by integument nanostructures (structural colours). Both structural and pigment-based colours can be costly to produce, maintain and display, and have been shown to convey information about a variety of individual quality traits. Male wall lizards, Podarcis muralis, display conspicuously coloured ventral and lateral patches during ritualized inter- and intrasexual displays: ventral colours (perceived as orange, yellow or white by humans) are pigment based, while the ultraviolet (UV)-blue of the outer ventral scales (OVS), located along …

Differences in conspicuousness between alternative color morphs in a polychromatic lizard

2015

In polychromatic species, differences in conspicuousness among alternative color morphs may affect the costs and benefits relating to signal detectability by primary receivers and unintended observers. Using visual modeling, we studied the conspicuousness of the body coloration in a ventrally polychromatic population of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). This species shows a complex color pattern that combines brown dorsal coloration, long-wavelength–biased ventral coloration, and ventrolateral ultraviolet (UV)-blue patches that are used to signal male quality. Considering simultaneously the visual system of P. muralis and lizard predators, we quantified the chromatic and achromatic (i…

Sexual selection drives asymmetric introgression in wall lizards.

2015

Hybridisation is increasingly recognised as an important cause of diversification and adaptation. Here, we show how divergence in male secondary sexual characters between two lineages of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) gives rise to strong asymmetries in male competitive ability and mating success, resulting in asymmetric hybridisation upon secondary contact. Combined with no negative effects of hybridisation on survival or reproductive characters in F1-hybrids, these results suggest that introgression should be asymmetric, resulting in the displacement of sexual characters of the sub-dominant lineage. This prediction was confirmed in two types of secondary contact, across a natur…

Ultraviolet vision in lacertid lizards: evidence from retinal structure, eye transmittance, SWS1 visual pigment genes, and behaviour

2014

Abstract Ultraviolet (UV) vision and UV colour patches have been reported in a wide range of taxa and are increasingly appreciated as an integral part of vertebrate visual perception and communication systems. Previous studies with Lacertidae, a lizard family with diverse and complex coloration, have revealed the existence of UV-reflecting patches that may function as social signals. However, confirmation of the signalling role of UV coloration requires demonstrating that the lizards are capable of vision in the UV waveband. Here we use a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the visual sensitivity of a diverse sample of lacertid species. Spectral transmission measurements of the ocula…

Colour variation between different lineages of a colour polymorphic lizard

2019

"Predator-elicited foot shakes in wall lizards (Podarcis muralis): Evidence for a pursuit-deterrent function": Correction to Font, Carazo, Pérez i de…

2012

Description deSkrjabinelazia pyrenaican. sp. (Nematoda : Seuratidae) et proposition d’une nouvelle diagnose pour le genreSkrjabinelazia

1988

Description de Skrjabinelazia pyrenaica n. sp. (Nematoda : Seuratidae), parasite intestinal du lezard iberique Podarcis hispanica (Steindachner, 1870) et du lezard des murailles Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768) (Reptilia : Lacertidae), captures dans les Pyrenees Centrales iberiques. La nouvelle espece est caracterisee, chez le mâle, par le nombre de papilles cloacales et la longueur des spicules et du gubernaculum et chez la femelle par la presence d’une ornementation cuticulaire particuliere, ainsi que par les dimensions des œufs. En accord avec les caracteristiques morphologiques et anatomiques observees chez S. pyrenaica n. sp. et apres la revision generique de Skrjabinelazia , une nouv…

Population genomics of wall lizards reflects the dynamic history of the Mediterranean Basin

2021

AbstractThe Mediterranean Basin has experienced extensive change in geology and climate over the past six million years. Yet, the relative importance of key geological events for the distribution and genetic structure of the Mediterranean fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we use population genomic and phylogenomic analyses to establish the evolutionary history and genetic structure of common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis). This species is particularly informative because, in contrast to other Mediterranean lizards, it is widespread across the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas, and in extra-Mediterranean regions. We found strong support for six major lineages within P. muralis, w…

Epistatic interactions between pterin and carotenoid genes modulate intra-morph color variation in a lizard.

2021

Color polymorphisms have become a major topic in evolutionary biology and substantial efforts have been devoted to the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for originating such colorful systems. Within-morph continuous variation, on the other hand, has been neglected in most of the studies. Here, we combine spectrophotometric/visual modeling and genetic data to study the mechanisms promoting continuous variation within categorical color morphs of Podarcis muralis. Our results suggest that intra-morph variability in the pterin-based orange morph is greater compared to white and yellow morphs. We also show that continuous variation within the orange morph is partially discriminable by …

Regulatory changes in pterin and carotenoid genes underlie balanced color polymorphisms in the wall lizard

2019

Significance Reptiles show an amazing color diversity based on variation in melanins, carotenoids, and pterins. This study reveals genes controlling differences between three color morphs (white, orange, and yellow) in the common wall lizard. Orange pigmentation, due to high levels of orange/red pterins in skin, is caused by genetic changes in the sepiapterin reductase gene. Yellow skin, showing high levels of yellow carotenoids, is controlled by the beta-carotene oxygenase 2 locus. Thus, the color polymorphism in the common wall lizard is associated with changes in two small regions of the genome containing genes with crucial roles in pterin and carotenoid metabolism. These genes are likel…