Patterns of phenotypic variation reveal substantial differentiation in sexual dimorphism of three Psammodromus (Squamata, Lacertidae) species
Détails
Etat: Public
Version: Final published version
ID Serval
serval:BIB_3321D02DF089
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Patterns of phenotypic variation reveal substantial differentiation in sexual dimorphism of three Psammodromus (Squamata, Lacertidae) species
Périodique
Contributions to Zoology
ISSN
1383-4517
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2012
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
81
Numéro
4
Pages
181-197
Langue
anglais
Notes
San-Jose2012
Résumé
The Spanish sand racer (Psammodromus hispanicus) has been recently split into three distinct species: P. hispanicus, P. edwardsianus, and P. occidentalis. Some morphological differences have been reported but there is as yet no description allowing unambiguous identification of the three species. Here, we describe differentiation in body measurements, scalation traits, and colour traits as well as in the degree of sexual dimorphism. Our results show that P. edwardsianus can be easily distinguished by the presence of a supralabial scale below the subocular scale, which is absent in the other two species. Psammodromus hispanicus and P. occidentalis can be distinguished by the number of femoral pores, throat scales and ocelli, and the relative width of the anal scale. The degree of sexual size dimorphism and sexual colour dimorphism substantially differs among species, suggesting that different scenarios of sexual and natural selection may exist for each species. Moreover, sexually selected traits (nuptial colouration, ocelli, and femoral pores) significantly differ among species, suggesting that visual and chemical communication may also differ among species. Such differences could prevent reproduction and gene flow at secondary contact zones, potentially reinforcing isolation and speciation within this group of lizards.
Mots-clé
colouration, Psammodromus edwardsianus, Psammodromus hispanicus, Psammodromus occidentalis, sexual dimorphism
Web of science
Création de la notice
22/11/2012 12:28
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 14:18