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Reptiles in track ballast – Risk potential and measures for better protection during construction projects and maintenance work.

We present statements from federal authorities, German Railways, and our own data on the importance of track ballast for reptiles. Our observations range from high-speed lines to regional and disused railway tracks.

Wall lizards typically occur in high densities. In some cases, thousands per kilometre were recovered from track ballast. For sand lizards and slow worms, hundreds are not uncommon (or would be with appropriate catch periods). Snakes were recovered or captured in tens per kilometre of ballast.

Mortality rates during work on ballast depend in particular on the current proportion of reptiles in the ballast. This is influenced not least by the time of year, time of day, and weather conditions.

We present literature that emphasises very serious risks from work on gravel ballast. Elsewhere, a greater impact on reptiles is disputed or denied; so-called abstracts from authorities partly contradict the contents of studies.

According to our observations, wall lizards remain on and in the ballast when track construction trains/large machines are being used; this behaviour is likely to be typical for other reptiles as well. During hibernation in the ballast, snakes and lizards are unable to escape anyway.

We make suggestions for better protection during maintenance and construction work, including through expert supervision of careful excavation work in important reptile areas.

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In this study, 15 amphibian and reptile species were recorded from 12 different localities in the Camili Biosphere Reserve, known as the first biosphere site of Turkey. Two of these species are urodelan, four are anuran, four are Lacertilia and five are Ophidia. Two black coloured Natrix specimens collected from biosphere rezerve area are compered with literature data belongs to N. megalocephala. Moreover, the population and habitat status of threatened species were investigated, required conservation measures were explained.

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A total of 230 cleared and alizarin stained and 136 radiographed specimens of Darevskia belonging to 47 nominal taxa (species, subspecies or singular clades) including the seven parthenogenetic ones and a triploid hybrid were studied. Sixteen osteological characters in all the tried species were analyzed. These characters by corporal regions were: skull characters: 1.—number of premaxillary teeth; 2.—number of maxillary teeth; 3.—number of dentary teeth; 4.—teeth morphology; 5.—presence of anterolateral process in the postfrontal bone; 6.—presence of anteromedial process in the postorbital bone; 7.—comparative lengths of the postorbital and postfrontal bones; 8.—overlap degree between the postorbital and the squamosal bones. Postcranial characters: 9.—existence of visible (ossified) ribs associated with the third presacral vertebrae; 10.—sternal/xiphisternal costal formula and presence of inscriptional ribs; 11.—number of presacral vertebrae; 12.—number of posterior dorsal vertebrae (short presacral ribs); 13.—presence and form of the sternal fontanelle; 14.—form of the clavicles (emarginated or marginated); 15.—interclavicle form; 16.—morphology of first autotomic vertebrae of the tail.

Our goals were to characterize osteologically the different species of Darevskia, to contrast their relationships traced from osteological traits with the available genetic-derived phylogenies of the group, to compare the osteological characteristics of the parthenogenetic species with their bisexual parental species, and to comment on their parentage and character polarity. Finally, we aimed to search for osteological characteristics of the different groups within Darevskia, diagnosing them for the first time. The results, commented on by characters, are available in the main text, and taxa characteristics are easily consultable and condensed in Table 1.

Osteological characteristics of Darevskia, together with available phylogenetic trees, have permitted us to define some new groups within Darevskia (raddei, chlorogaster, defilippi, and parvula new groups) (Appendix 3), which are reciprocally monophyletic and have diagnostic characteristics. All of them are diagnosed and named as subgenera to be used if necessary, instead of the partial, old and not always comprehensive groups.

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We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of Podarcis filfolensis (Maltese wall lizard; Chordata; Lepidosauria; Squamata; Lacertidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 1,506.95 megabases and 1,404.02 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (98.73%) is scaffolded into 20 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the W and Z sex chromosomes. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 17.23 kilobases.

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Limb abnormalities are one of the most common deformities of vertebrates. They can be caused by both external and internal reasons. Limb abnormalities of amniotes are a fairly rare phenomenon, and mass limb abnormalities have not been found in amniote populations. Isolated cases of skeletal abnormalities are described mainly externally, without detailing the structure of the skeleton. This article presents descriptions of three abnormal specimens of hybrids of subspecies of Lacerta agilis (L. a. boemica L. a. exigua). Two of them have oligodactyly of the right fore-limb. The third specimen demonstrates a unique combination of oligodactyly of the right and polydactyly of the left forelimbs.

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The Aegean Islands are a known hotspot for herpetofauna and have been extensively studied in this area. However, there are still numerous islands that lack this research. This includes the uninhabited islet of Despotiko found in the Paros Archipelago, Cyclades. It is known for its importance in archaeology, which, in turn, attracts tourism. However, there is not yet a complete understanding of the presence of herpetofauna there, with the last published records written in 1977. In an effort to address this, a combination of past ad-hoc sightings and visual surveys was carried out during the summer of 2024. These yielded two new records of reptile species, Eryx jaculus and Lacerta citrovittata. Furthermore, the enclosed archaeological site had greater reptile diversity and rich ness than outside the site. This highlights the potential importance of the archaeological site as a key reptile habitat. Our findings help to improve our understanding of reptilian diversity in the archipelago, providing avenues for further research into the potential interactions between archaeological sites and reptile diversity.

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Mesalina watsonana is a species complex with a wide distribution range in Iran, some parts of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwest India. Recent molecular and morphological investigations detected remarkable hidden diversity among the geographical populations of the complex, more likely referring to the persistence of undescribed species. In this study, we conducted a very detailed sampling of localities and carried out a morphological study to investigate populations within the complex. Investigation of morphological features within the M. watsonana species complex indicated that it consists of seven distinct populations. They include the West-Southeast-South, East-Northeast, East Dasht-e Kavir, West Dasht-e Kavir, and two central groups (Halil and Kerman groups). Considering our findings, each of the seven populations corresponding to distinct geographic regions should be recognized as species. The six new species include Mesalina khuzestanensis sp. nov., Mesalina halilica sp. nov., Mesalina kermanensis sp. nov., Mesalina ardestanica sp. nov., Mesalina bardaskanensis sp. nov., Mesalina esfarayensis sp. nov. which are distinctive from each other due to their unique morphological characteristics.

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The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) populations in Bohemia, Czech Republic, are isolated by more than 150 km from the northern border of the continuous range of the species. These populations are fragmented and further isolated from each other. In this landscape mosaic, they are tied to specific habitats located in deeply incised river valleys (the so-called river phenomenon) and thus may be viewed as stenotopic. The research site is located on the northern edge of the city of Prague. Since 1998, this site has been the subject of long-term conservation management aimed at strengthening and maintaining the abundance of the local L. viridis population. To formulate recommendations for the management of other isolated L. viridis populations, we performed a spatial analysis of the localities with observed individuals to determine and evaluate the significance of the chosen biotic and abiotic factors for habitat discrimination. We applied principal components and discriminant function analyses and examined the effect of 24 variables on the species’ presence. The results revealed the principal role of the presence of rock debris and hiding places for lizard occurrence. The strongest negative predictors were the presence of tall grass and high vegetation coverage. We discuss the applicability of our findings in both the theory and practice of species conservation and population management.

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The current knowledge on the herpetofauna of Syros is updated, whereby no publications on it have been made since 1975. I provide the results from a field trip in 2024 that focused on the hygrophilous species. The Balkan Water Frog and the Balkan Terrapin, men tioned for Syros in the 19th century, meanwhile have become extinct. The Green Toad is threatened with extinction, the status of the Grass Snake is unclear. The Green Toad has benefited previously from anthropogenic spawning grounds in the form of open cisterns, which have fallen into disuse and thus are no longer available to the amphibians. The ongoing climate change in the Aegean region is reflected in drier winters, which dry out water bodies. The situation for the wetlands and their fauna and flora on Syros is alarming.

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Since the book-formatted, monographic treatment of the lizards of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and their adjacent is-lands by Grismer (2011), 47 additional species have been added to that fauna bringing the total to 174. One species, Cyr-todactylus stresemanni, was removed from the lizard fauna based on its likely mislabeled type locality; 44 species were described as new—29 gekkonids, 11 scincids, five agamids, and one dibamid; and three others, Cnemaspis narathiwaten-sis, Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus, and Scincella melanosticta were recently discovered in northern Peninsular Malaysia. Taxonomic changes for seven previously described species occurring after 2011 are noted and significant, new locality records are documented here for additional species. The intent of this review is to provide an up to date peer-reviewed checklist for the lizard species of this region prior to a pending updated book monograph.

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A preliminary checklist of the herpetofauna of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip) Governorates is presented based on records of amphibian and reptile species whose presence has been confirmed in Palestine`s governorates as a result of extensive field expeditions, examination of fixed herpetological collections, literature review, and personal communications from researchers. The paper reports 95 original data on the Palestinian herpetofauna (4 Amphibians and 54 reptiles), deriving from field observations. The herpetofauna of Palestine consists of 58 species belonging to forty six genera and twenty families. Species found in this study either globally or regionally distributed. Majority of species (44 species) fall in the least concern category of the IUCN Red List Category. One species found to be categorized as critically endangered, and another species found to be categorized as endangered. Two Species found to be categorized as threatened, and three Species as vulnerable accordingly.

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Anomalies of the postcranial skeleton of nine taxa of the genus Darevskia belonging to the Darevskia (caucasica) and Darevskia (saxicola) complexes were studied for the first time on representative samples. Several groups and subgroups were identified: (1) asymmetric structure of ribs and/or transverse processes of vertebrae (anomaly of sacral vertebrae; and anomaly of the ribs in the presacral vertebra); (2) reduction of the ribs; (3) fusion of the vertebrae; and (4) anomalies of the sternum: xiphisternal rib formula. The Darevskia (caucasica) complex showed fewer anomalies than the Darevskia (saxicola) complex, in the latter we did not observe specimens with two ribs on one side of the vertebra or a reduction of the ribs on the 4th vertebra. At the same time, the highest number of anomalies was found in D. c. caucasica, the lowest in D. alpina, D. c. vedenica and D. b. myusserica. The most common anomaly is the asymmetric structure of the ribs at the level of the 21st, 22nd or 23rd presacral vertebra, the rarest are the reduction of the ribs at the level of the 4th presacral vertebra and the presence of two ribs on the left side at the level of the 16th presacral vertebra. The presence of a large number of anomalous specimens in rock lizard populations is not necessarily associated with parthenogenetic reproduction and hybridisation. Extreme environmental conditions (especially living in high mountains) are also not a necessary condition for the occurrence of anomalies in the structure of their postcranial skeleton.

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The Erhard’s wall lizard Podarcis erhardii (Bedriaga, 1886) was first recorded on the tiny rocky islet of Spanopoula, near Kea (Aegean Archipelago, Greece), in 1980. Since then, there has been no other published reference to confirm the species’ presence or to estimate its population status. Here, we report on a herpetological survey we carried out on Spanopoula 44 years later, which add ed a third species (Mediodactylus kotschyi) to the islet’s herpetofauna list. During our visit, we collected body-size measurements and tissue samples for the molecular identification of the Podarcis lizards inhabiting the islet. We found a thriving population of medium-sized wall lizards, belonging to the mainland form, P. erhardii livadiacus (Werner, 1902). As this subspecies is not present in adjacent Kea and nearby islands, our finding supports a human-mediated dispersal scenario.

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Um die Verbreitung und Infektionsrate (Prävalenz) der Arthropoden-übertragenen Haemoparasiten Karyolysus sp. und Hepatzoorn sp. in Eidechsen-Populationen in Deutschland zu untersuchen, wurde diese in verschiedenen Eidechsenarten (Lacerta agilis, L. viridis, L. trilineata, Podarcis muralis und Zootoca vivipara) in drei Regionen bestimmt. An Eidechsen saugende Zecken wurden auf diese beiden Erreger molekularbiologisch getestet. Insgesamt haben wir 1772 Ixodes ricinus-Zecken von 386 Eidechsen aus 45 Populationen auf das Vorhandensein von Haemoparasiten-DNA untersucht. 21 Populationen (47 %) waren von diesen Haemoparasiten betroffen. Anhand der an Eidechsen parasitierenden Zecken ließ sich ermitteln, dass ein Drittel der untersuchten Eidechsen von Karyolysus lacazei parasitiert wurde und dass etwa jede 30. Eidechse sowohl von K. lacaneii als auch von einer Hepatozoon-Art befallen war. Die Infektionsraten der beiden Haemoparasiten in den Zecken unterschieden sich je nach Eidechsenart, und das Vorkommen der beiden Haemoparasiten variierte regional. Während im Nordosten mit Hepatozoon infizierte Eidechsen rar waren, waren in den von Haemoparasiten betroffenen Populationen ein Drittel der Eidechsen im Südwesten und fast die Hälfte der Eidechsen im Westen mit diesem Erreger infiziert. Sofern die Pathogenität der in dieser Studie nachgewiesenen Haemoparasiten für Eidechsen nicht ausgeschlossen werden kann, sollten potenzielle nachteilige Konsequenzen für die Eidechsen-Populationen bei jeglichen Manipulationen und insbesondere bei Translokationen berücksichtigt werden, um eine Ausbreitung und Verschleppung der Erreger in bisher nicht betroffene Populationen zu vermeiden.

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Umsetzungen und Umsiedlungen von Populationen, die im Rahmen von Bauvorhaben oder anderen Eingriffen in natürliche Lebensräume erfolgen, gelten im Artenschutz als ultima ratio. Da die jährlich in Deutschland durchgeführten Umsetzungen und Umsiedlungen von Amphibien und Reptilien nicht zentral erfasst werden, können keine Aussagen über die Erfolgsquote solcher Projekte getroffen werden. In vielen Fällen dürften diese daran scheitern, dass die Ersatzlebensräume nicht den Umweltansprüchen der betroffenen Arten genügen. Wir stellen hier die Ergebnisse einer Umsetzung von Zauneidechsen und Schlingnattern in Dresden vor und diskutieren Faktoren und Aspekte, die bei der Planung, Gestaltung und Entwicklung von Ersatzlebensräumen berücksichtigt werden sollten.

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Die Reptilienfauna des Hattinger Stadtgebietes (Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, NRW) wurde Ende der 1980er Jahre erstmalig näher untersucht und dokumentiert. Mit vier heimischen Arten (Waldeidechse, Zauneidechse, Blindschleiche und Ringelnatter) sowie zwei ausgesetzten Arten (Europäische Sumpfschildkröte, Rotwangen-Schmuckschildkröte) war sie artenarm und überschaubar. Ein Vergleich der alten Datensätze mit den Ergebnissen aus einem aktuellen Kartierungszeitraum (2077-2024) ermöglicht belastbare Aussagen über Bestandsveränderungen und belegt z.T. erhebliche Veränderungen während der letzten ca. 35 Jahre, die sowohl qualitativer (Artenspektrum) als auch quantitativer (Häufigkeit) Natur sind. Qualitativ fällt das mit der Schlingnatter und allochthonen Mauereidechsen erweiterte Artenspektrum auf, das ergänzt wird durch Gelbwangen-Schmuckschildkröten sowie mehrere weitere allochthone Schildkröten (Höckerschildkröte, Chinesische Streifenschildkröte, Schnappschildkröte). Besonders bemerkenswert sind die überraschenden Bestandsveränderungen der heutigen Barrenringelnatter. Ende der 1980er Jahre galt die Art noch als vom Aussterben bedroht, inzwischen ist sie aber in weiten Teilen des Stadtgebietes ebenso häufig wie die Blindschleiche, die, wenngleich noch immer auf hohem Niveau, rückläufige Bestände erkennen lässt. Die Bestände von Wald- und Zauneidechse zeigen über die Jahre hinweg stark schwankende, meist kleine und kleinste Lokalpopulationen, die gegenüber den 1980er Jahren aber auf niedrigem Niveau relativ stabil scheinen. So stehen lokalen Aussterbeprozessen und erloschenen Kleinstvorkommen auch einzelne neue Vorkommen entgegen, die vor Ort eine gewisse Durchlässigkeit der Landschaft fi-rr Neuansiedlungen belegen. Eine besondere Bedeutung kommt dabei offensichtlich Freileitungstrassen, einer ehemaligen, heute als Radweg ausgebauten Bahntrasse sowie, im waldreichen Htigelland, sonnenexponierten Wegeböschungen zu, die den Tieren bei zunehmender Sukzession den Wechsel zwischen älteren und neueren Windwurf- oder Aufforstungsflächen ermöglichen.

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Ichnotropis is a genus of small and elusive ground-dwelling lizards mostly distributed in the savannas and woodlands south of the Congo River. The genus comprises six nominal species and three subspecies; however, the phylogenetic hypothesis of this group and the taxonomical status of several taxa remain unresolved. Among these species, Ichnotropis microlepidota stands out, as it is only known from the type series since its discovery in the 1950s in the crop of a Chanting Goshawk in Mount Moco, in the central highlands of Angola. Consequently, due to the lack of a precise locality and its similar morphology to other species, the taxonomic status of this species has been debated by several authors. Thanks to the collection of new material across the Angolan territory, we take the opportunity to revise the group, using molecular and morphological techniques. Thus, we here provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis of the group in Angola and therefore a phylogenetic placement of I. microlepidota. As a result, we validate the taxonomic status of this elusive species and demonstrate that it represents a distinct taxon within the bivittata group, differing by 14.99% 16S uncorrected p-distance from I. bivittata. Furthermore, we undertake an updated description of this species, providing additional ex- ternal and internal (i.e., cranial osteology) morphological features that can be used to compare I. microlepidota with other members of the group. Finally, we identified two candidate new species from Angola and corroborated the importance of the central highlands of Angola as an important center of endemism in the western slope of Central Africa.

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Ein möglichst umfangreiches Verständnis der Mikrohabitatnutzung ist eine der wesentlichen Grundlagen, auf der ein zielgerichtetes Habitatmanagement fußt. Dabei bedarf es insbesondere bei weitverbreiteten Arten wie der Zauneidechse einer lebensund naturräumlich differenzierten Betrachtung. Da über die Mikrohabitatnutzvng verschiedener Altersklassen der Zauneidechse vergleichsweise wenig bekannt ist, war es das Ziel festzustellen, ob und inwiefern Unterschiede zwischen adulten, subadulten und juvenilen Tieren auftreten. 2022 und 2023 wurde die Mikrohabitatnutzung einer individuenstarken Zauneidechsen-Population in der Mtinsteraner Emsaue analysiert. Dazu wurden 216 Mikrohabitate kartiert und mithilfe verschiedener statistischer Verfahren (NMDS, Shannon-Diversiy-Index, Kruskal-Wallis- und Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney- Tests) ausgewertet. Die Analysen offenbarten, dass sich die Mikrohabitatnutzung verschiedener Altersklassen insbesondere in Bezugauf die Krautschicht, die Streu und das Totholz unterschied. Zauneidechsen nutzten mit zunehmendem Alter Bereiche mit höherer Krautschicht, größeren Totholz- und geringeren Streudeckungen. Zudem wiesen die genutzten Mikrohabitate im Vergleich zu Kontrollmikrohabitaten eine geringere Krautschicht- sowie größere Streu-, Totholz- und Offenbodendeckungen auf. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass Zauneidechsen Mikrohabitate nutzten, die signifikant heterogener als ihr durchschnittliches Umfeld waren. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das Management von Zauneidechsen-Habitaten auf die Entwicklung heterogener Mosaike diverser Strukturen abzielen sollte, die den Tieren in sämtlichen Lebensphasen geeignete Bedingungen bieten.