12,967 research outputs found
Notes on cloacal temperatures of the adder, Vipera berus in a glacial valley in north-eastern Italy.
No full textShort report on the preferred body temperatures of the adder in a mountain valley of northeastern Italy
A critique of the systematic position of the asp viper subspecies Vipera aspis aspis (Linnæi, 1758), Vipera aspis atra Meisner, 1820, Vipera aspis francisciredi Laurenti, 1768, Vipera aspis hugyi Schinz, 1833 and Vipera aspis zinnikeri Kramer, 1958
No full textExternal and internal morphology of 415 specimens of the Palaearctic asp viper (Vipera aspis
subspecies and populations), and outgroup taxa (V. ammodytes, V. berus), have been examined in order to nd
patterns of distribution and variation throughout the species range. Within the aspis group V. aspis aspis, V. aspis
atra, V. aspis francisciredi, V. aspis hugyi and V. aspis zinnikeri were considered. Ventral scales and number
of dorsal bars proved to be the most important external characters to separate populations . Hemipenes showed
marked differences between subspecies , in particular in differentiating V. aspis atra, V. aspis hugyi and V. aspis
zinnikeri from one another, and also in separating them from the V. aspis aspis — V. aspis francisciredi group.
Discriminant Analysis on external features indicated the complete separation of V. aspis atra, V. aspis hugyi
and V. aspis zinnikeri and the almost complete overlap of V. aspis aspis and V. aspis francisciredi. The strong
morphologica l differences observed suggest that zinnikeri, atra and hugyi are distinct species, even if further
molecular analyses are needed to clarify the whole problem, and neotypes should be designated in order to
stabilize taxonomy
Diet and morphometrics of Coluber (=Hierophis) viridiflavus on the island of Montecristo (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)
No full textIn this short note I present and discuss new data on diet and additional natural history data for Coluber (=Hierophis) viridiflavus
Reproductive patterns of European pond turtles differ between sites: a small scale scenario
No full textFrom 1996 to 2002, we studied the body size, measures of reproductive strategy (relative clutch mass and delayed
reproduction at sexual maturity), and reproductive output (clutch frequency and annual egg production) of female European
Pond turtles, Emys orbicularis, at two sites separated by 12 km in central Mediterranean Tuscany (San Rossore and Camp
Darby, central northern Italy). Females did not reproduce at the first appearance of external sexual characters, but reproduced
at larger sizes, probably as older turtles. Among years, reproductive females were more common than were non-reproductive
females, yet both groups had similar body sizes. Body size (carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height
and body mass) varied between localities and among years. Body size differed between reproductive and non reproductive
females in Camp Darby, but not in San Rossore females. Shell volume did not vary among years, nor between localities,
nor between reproductive status. Reproductive females had higher body condition indices (BCI) than did non-reproductive
females, while BCI did not differ between females laying one clutch and females laying multiple clutches. Clutch size did
not vary among years. One clutch per year was much more frequent than multiple clutches, and multiple clutches were more
frequent in Camp Darby than in San Rossore females, likely due to differences in population structures between sites
Similarities and differences in adult tortoises: a morphological approach and its implication for reproduction and mobility between species
Get PDFSexes in Chelonia display marked differences. Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is important in evolutionary biology. Different sexual strategies result in species specific selection. Biometric variation in male and female tortoises of two species is studied. Eighteen biometrics were measured in 75 museum specimens (20 Testudo graeca; 55 T. hermanni). Nine of 18 parameters in T. hermanni and two of 18 in T. graeca were sexually dimorphic. Multivariate analyses (principal component analysis) highlighted two components, with bridge length the first and anal divergence the second component. The bridge length can be used to separate sexes and species. Males of both species were most different, whereas females of two species overlapped in body shape measurements. We hypothesise that female similarity could be a by-product of reproductive biology and sexual selection that optimise individual fitness
Conservation Biology of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758), in Italy: review of systematics and reproductive ecology patterns (Reptilia Emydidae)
No full textThe European pond turtle has been found to be a polytipic ta- xon characterised by some distinct genetic groups that embrace several morphological subspecies. Italian populations belong to at least two, perhaps to three different morphological groups. A spe- cial attention has been recently devoted to the study of reproduc- tive strategies and body size relationships in Italian Emys orbicu- laris, found that both at a small and at a large latitudinal scale pond turtles may offer significant differences at a reproductive and at morphological level. Annual clutch frequency of Italian populations is on average double in most of the western Mediter- ranean area even if this pattern may be strongly influenced by cli- matic constraints. Northern European populations produce on av- erage larger clutches than southern European pond turtle popula- tions, but egg size does not vary within or between populations. Nesting areas are mainly south oriented, but may be located at a very variable distance from water, ranging from one to hundred meter distance. Predation is a constant pattern that averages on about 80-85% of digged nests, and does not appear as a biological constraints to Italian wild populations of the pond turtle
Activity patterns in a viviparous snake, Vipera aspis (L., 1758), from Mediterranean central Italy
No full textThis short contribution is aimed
at showing the following points: i) the visibility of asp viper sedentary adult females could
be used as a good predictive variable in assessing their reproductive status; ii) the visibility
of adult vipers could be dependent on local climatic condition
Colour pattern variation in populations of the European Whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus: does geography explain everything?
No full textDifferent colour patterns in European Whip snake, range from normal (“viridiflavus” pattern), to abundistic (dark
pattern), to melanic-melanotic (black) patterns. Sexes are highly dimorphic, with more abundistic and melanotic-melanic
males, than females. Colour patterns are also distributed in well defined areas of the species’ distribution range. Normal
colour is distributed in N Europe, N, NW and C Italy, while abundistic snakes are typical of Corsica and Sardinia, and
melanic-melanotic snakes are very common or exclusive of NE, S Italy and Sicily. Proximal causes that may have driven the
distribution of present colour patterns are linked to palaeogeographic events, even if fossil reconstruction of past colonization
or a suitable phylogeographic hypothesis are not available
SNAkES: INTRIGuING ORGANISMS AND THEIR DIET. THE CASE OF THE EuROPEAN WHIP SNAkE, HIEROPHIS VIRIDIFLAVUS
Get PDFInterest toward snake biology and ecology is now- adays a matter of fact. Despite dozen and dozen papers on snake biology and diet, it is paradoxical that virtually nothing is available on energetic of natural preys in the wild, nor if geographically intra-specific differences may exist. We have been aimed at testing if prey energetic estimated values com- pared to actually observed prey profiles from wild snakes, may lead to a better interpretation of the diet spectrum, diet range, diet overlapping found in most of the studied snakes. As model species we used the European Whip snake, Hiero- phis viridiflavus, the commonest Italian snake species. Two contrasted areas and populations (Western France vs Central Italy) show marked differences in both prey percentage as well as in prey energetic, suggesting a strong relationship climate-habitat-metabolic requirements
Teeth number variation and cranial morphology within Vipera aspis group
Get PDFThe huge morphological variability of asp viper (Vipera aspis) snakes has been longly addressed and studied
to solve systematic and phylogeographic questions, with emphasis mainly to external morphology, distributive
patterns and genome analyses. Teeth number and skull size variation are presently considered in order to
contribute to the definition of the morphological puzzle that characterise the asp viper, comparing these
structures among age classes and subspecies. The results indicated that, on the whole, 1) teeth number did
not vary between sexes, 2) right palatine, total palatine and right dental teeth number varied among taxa and
3) skull length was markedly dimorphic. These differences apparently are congruent to taxonomic position
and published phylogeographic patterns
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