Kurinskaya lizard [1] ( lat. Darevskia portschinskii ) - a species of reptiles from the genus of rock lizards ( Darevskia ), a family of real lizards (Lacertidae).
| Kurin Lizard |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Infraclass : | Lepidosauromorphs |
| Infrastructure : | Skink-like |
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| International scientific name |
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Darevskia portschinskii Kessler , 1878 |
| Security status |
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 164654 |
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The species epithet is given in honor of the Kura River, the largest river in the South Caucasus .
Two subspecies are distinguished: Darevskia portschinskii nigrita (Bakradze, 1976) and Darevskia portschinskii portschinskii (Kessler, 1878).
Species Darevskia portschinskii belongs to the Rudis clade identified by Oscar Arribas along with the Georgian, Red-bellied lizards and the Valentine lizard . It was first described by Kessler in 1878 from specimens from the vicinity of Tbilisi. Holotype unknown. [2]
The maxillary scapula does not come in contact with the lobonosal. The upper lumbar scutes are separated from the infraorbital by a continuous, sometimes partially doubled row of 8-18 grains. A well-developed tympanic flap at the narrowest point is separated from the central temporal flap by 2-5 enlarged flaps. The collar is straight, less often slightly jagged. The preanal shield is large. The femoral pores are 14-22. Scales of the first third of the tail on the sides with strongly developed ribs. [3]
Males are larger than females, the body length of the first varies between 17-23 centimeters. The length of the tail is on average 2 times the length of the body. The upper side of the body is brownish gray. On the sides of the body there are temporal bands, including 1–4 rows of light (blue in the chest area) eyes, surrounded by a dark outline. The belly, bottom of the head and throat during the breeding season are yellow-orange. The males at this time the extreme rows of abdominal scutes are blue. [2]
A diagnostic sign for D. portschinskii nigrita is the general darkening of the color compared to D. portschinskii portschinskii. [four]
Distributed in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. [5] It lives at altitudes of 300-1700 meters above sea level. The main range of the nominative subspecies is concentrated along the right bank of the valley of the middle Kura River and the ravines of its right tributaries within Georgia, northern Armenia and north-western Azerbaijan. There is a large isolated population in the valley of the middle part of the Iori River (left tributary of the Kura River) on the southern slopes of the Tsivi-Gomborsky mountain range. The second isolated settlement was discovered in southwestern Azerbaijan, in the ravine of the Aker river (part of the Araks river basin). Lizards of the subspecies Darevskia p. nigrita are found in the ravines of the right tributaries of the Kura River ( Mashavera River in Georgia and Dzoraget in Armenia). [6]
To date, only four bisexual species ( D. portschinskii and D. valentini from the Rudis clade and D. mixta and D. raddei from the Raddei clade) are known from the entire genus Darevskia, forming parthenogenetic species. Three hybridization zones (with D. raddei ) are known for D. portschinskii , in which sympatric speciation occurs. [7]
It inhabits relatively arid zones along the banks of rivers and mountain slopes with xerophytic shrubbery and grassy vegetation. It lives in rocky landscapes, among stones and outcrops of solid parent rocks. D. portschinskii is one of the most dry-loving species among rock lizards. The optimum relative humidity for this species does not exceed 47-52% on average. [2]
In the hot summer months, with a prolonged absence of precipitation, the phenomenon of summer hibernation is often observed, when lizards hide for a long time in shelters and appear on the surface only after increasing humidity. [2]
Out of wintering in the Tbilisi region occurs in early to mid-March, higher in the mountains - from mid-April. [3]
Mostly entomophages, can feed on millipedes, spiders, mollusks, and worms. The diet depends on the abundance of one or another group of insects and varies seasonally. Sizes of production vary. [2]
Bisexual view. Mating occurs 3-5 weeks after leaving the winter, after the first spring molt. In June – mid-July, 2–5 eggs are laid. The maximum egg size is 12 × 7 mm. Young individuals of them appear after a month and a half. [3]
The genus Darevskia includes seven parthenogenetic species, each of which was formed by hybridization of two parental species. [8] Using the example of the genus of runner lizards ( Cnemidophorus ), it was shown that each of the parthenogenetic species of lizards is characterized by intraspecific genetic diversity, which is associated with repeated occurrence, mutations, or genetic recombinations in each of them. [9] [10] An example of such a parthenogenetic species in rock lizards is D. dahli , whose paternal bisexual species was the species D. portschinskii considered in this article, and the maternal species D. mixta . [eleven]
The only exception [12] among the genetically diverse parthenogenetic species is the species D. rostombekovi , which occurred only once, as a result of hybridization of the father species D. portschinskii and maternal D. raddei . [13]
- ↑ Ananyeva N. B., Borkin L. Ya., Darevsky I.S., Orlov N.L. The five-language dictionary of animal names. Amphibians and reptiles. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / edited by Acad. V. E. Sokolova. - M .: Rus. Yaz., 1988 .-- S. 226. - 10,500 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00232-X .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Darevsky I. S. Rocky lizards of the Caucasus: Systematics, ecology, phylogeny of the polymorphic group of Caucasian rocky lizards of the genus Archaeolaster. St. Petersburg :: Science, 1967.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Key to amphibian and reptile fauna of the USSR. Textbook manual for students biol. specialties ped. in-com. M., "Enlightenment", 1977.
- ↑ Doronin I.V. Systematics, phylogeny, and distribution of rock lizards of the supraspecific complexes Darevskia (praticola), Darevskia (caucasica) and Darevskia (saxicola). St. Petersburg, 2015
- ↑ Darevskia portschinskii | The reptile database
- ↑ Darevskia portschinskii . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
- ↑ Arakelyan M. C. Speciation processes in sympatric populations of bisexual rock lizards of the genus Darevskia. Biologist. journal Armenia, 3 (64), 2012.
- ↑ Murphy R., Fu, J., MacCulloch, R., Darevsky, I., Kupriyanova, L. A fine line between sex and unisexuality: the phylogenetic constraints on parthenogenesis in lacertid lizards. Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 130, p. 527-549, 2000.
- ↑ Cole C., Dessauer H., Barrowclough G. Hybrid origin of a unisexual species of whiptail lizard, Cnemidophorus neomexicanus, in western North America: new evidence and a review. Amer. Mus. Novit 2905, 1-38, 1988.
- ↑ Parker E. Phenotypic consequences of parthenogenesis in Cnemidophorus lizards. I. Variability on parthenogenetic and sexual populations. Evolution 33, 1150-1166, 1979.
- ↑ Arakelyan M.S. Microevolutionary processes in sympatric populations of some reptile species of the Republic of Armenia and adjacent territories. Yerevan, 2012.
- ↑ MacCulloch R., Murphy R., Kupriyanova LA, Darevskiy IS The Caucasian rock lizard Lacerta rostombekovi: a Monoclonal Parthenogenetic Vertebrate. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 33-37, 1997.
- ↑ Darevsky, IS, Kupriyanova, LA and Uzzell, T. (1985) Parthenogenesis in reptiles. In Biology of the Reptilia, vol. 15. (Gans, C. and Billett, F., eds), pp. 411-526. Wiley Interscience.
- Bakradze M.A. 1976. New subspecies of the Kurin lizard Lacerta portschinskii nigrita ssp. n from East Transcaucasia. Bulletin of Zoology, 4: 54-57.
