| sarcocystis acanthocolubri sp. n. infecting three lizard species of the genus acanthodactylus and the problem of host specificity. light and electron microscopic study. | in the present investigation, macroscopic sarcocysts of sarcocystis acanthocolubri were observed in muscles of 42 (4.3%) out of 975 acanthodactylus sp. lizards collected from different geographical areas in egypt. the infection rate was 6.4% in acanthodactylus boskianus, 2.1% in acanthodactylus sculentus, and 5% in acanthodactylus paradalis. the highest infection rate was recorded in the lizards captured from baltem (10% in a. boskianus and 8% in a. paradalis). the infection rate was usually hig ... | 2012 | 21710348 |
| morphological description of isospora alyousifi nom.n. for i. acanthodactyli alyousif et al-shawa, 1997 (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) infecting acanthodactylus schmidti (sauria: lacertidae) in saudi arabia. | to date, three species of isospora schneider, 1881 have been described from lizards of the genus acanthodactylus wiegmann. two of these, although representing separate species parasitizing two different hosts, acanthodactylus boskianus daudin in egypt and a. schmidti haas in saudi arabia, were described under the name isospora acanthodactyli. the third species is isospora abdallahi modrý, koudela et slapeta, 1998 from a. boskianus in egypt. in the present study, isospora alyousifi nom. n. is pro ... | 2012 | 23327005 |
| unusual features of the sperm head differentiation in mabuya quinquetaeniata. | sperm head differentiation in mabuya quinquetaeniata agrees in the main features with that of agama adramitana, agama blandfordi, and acanthodactylus boskianus. the development of subacrosomal lateral canals, the disappearance of translucent medulla, and the existence of unilateral dense acrosome are new findings of the present investigation. | 2003 | 9202829 |
| relative medial and dorsal cortex volume in relation to foraging ecology in congeneric lizards. | the need to locate distributed resources such as mates, food, and nests is correlated with an enlarged hippocampus in many mammalian and avian species. this correlation is believed to be a consequence of selection for spatial ability. little is known about how such ecological needs affect non-mammalian, non-avian species. in lizards, the putative hippocampal homologues are the dorsal cortex (dc) and medial cortex (mc). we examined the relationship between foraging ecology and the size of the dc ... | 1999 | 10681602 |
| spatial and reversal learning in congeneric lizards with different foraging strategies. | environmental demands that require intensive search for mates, food and nest sites are correlated with efficient spatial memory in many mammalian and avian species. this convergence of evidence has led to the view that spatial memory, and the neurological structures associated with it, have been selected in niches that require memory for the location of goal objects. whether such evolutionary demands are also correlated with nonspatial abilities that require flexible use of associations similar ... | 1999 | 10049480 |
| influence of a broad temperature range on the oxygen consumption rates of three desert lizard species. | oxygen consumption rates of three desert lizard species: (acanthodactylus boskianus, lacertidae; scincus mitranus, scincidae; diplometopon zarudnyi, amphisbaenidae) were determined in relation to ambient temperatures ranging from 10 to 35 degrees c using a double-chamber, volumetric closed system. the interspecific differences in the oxygen consumption rates were found to have a close relationship between the characteristics of the m-t curves, the thermoregulatory behaviour and the ecology of th ... | 1986 | 2873932 |
| a radioautographic study of retinal projections in type i and type ii lizards. | the retinofugal projections of 5 species (acanthodactylus boskianus, scincus scincus, tarentola mauritanica, uromastix acanthinurus and zonosaurus ornatus) belonging to 5 different families of type i and type ii lizards have been examined by means of the radioautographic method. in the 5 species the retinal ganglion cells project to the contralateral hypothalamus (nucleus suprachiasmaticus), thalamus (nucleus geniculatus lateralis pars ventralis, nucleus geniculatus lateralis pars dorsalis), pre ... | 1978 | 638743 |
| microstructure of scales in selected lizard species. | in the present study, it was hypothesized that micromorphology of the surface of many lizard scales appears to mimic the topography of the habitat in which they live. many authors have suggested that the microstructure of the superficial surface of scales have undergone important adaptations and have functional value in lizards. in this study, we investigated the variation and adaptation of the micromorphology and microstructure of the superficial surface of the dorsal and ventral scales from th ... | 2019 | 30622416 |
| small vertebrates running on uneven terrain: a biomechanical study of two differently specialised lacertid lizards. | while running, small animals frequently encounter large terrain variations relative to their body size, therefore, terrain variations impose important functional demands on small animals. nonetheless, we have previously observed in lizards that running specialists can maintain a surprisingly good running performance on very uneven terrains. the relatively large terrain variations are offset by their capacity for leg adjustability that ensures a 'smooth ride' of the centre of mass (com). the ques ... | 2019 | 31727966 |
| decreased cell-mediated immune response in bosk's fringe-toed lizards (acanthodactylus boskianus) inhabiting an industrialized area in southern tunisia. | lizards increasingly are recognized as suitable contaminant biomonitors in terrestrial ecosystems. previously, we have shown that bosk's fringe-toed lizards (acanthodactylus boskianus) living close to the gabès-ghannouche industrial complex for fertilizer and acid production in southern tunisia were contaminated by heavy metals. however, the impact of this contamination on lizard health parameters has not been investigated. in this study, we used the phytohaemagglutinin (pha) skin-swelling test ... | 2020 | 32699910 |
| heavy metal accumulation in lizards living near a phosphate treatment plant: possible transfer of contaminants from aquatic to terrestrial food webs. | we investigated the accumulation of heavy metals in bosk's fringe-toed lizards (acanthodactylus boskianus) living in gabès region (southeastern tunisia), in relation to habitat, diet, and distance from the gabès-ghannouche factory complex of phosphate treatment. more specifically, we compared the concentrations of cadmium, lead, and zinc in the stomach contents and samples of the liver, kidney, and tail from lizards living in four sites corresponding to different combinations of habitat (coastal ... | 2017 | 26374543 |
| observation resolution critically influences movement-based foraging indices. | movement-based indices such as moves per minute (mpm) and proportion time moving (ptm) are common methodologies to quantify foraging behavior. hundreds of studies have reported these indices, many without specifying the temporal resolution of their original data, and others using varying resolutions. this was done despite the likelihood that observation resolution can affect mpm and ptm estimates. our goal was to empirically determine the sensitivity of these foraging indices to changes in the t ... | 2019 | 31541166 |
| compliant legs enable lizards to maintain high running speeds on complex terrains. | substrate variations are likely to constrain animal performance in natural environments, as running over complex terrains challenges the dynamic stability of the body differently in each step. yet, being able to negotiate complex terrains at top speed is a strong advantage for animals that have to deal with predators and evasive prey. little is known on how animals negotiate such terrain variability at high speed. we investigated this in fast-running acanthodactylus boskianus lizards, by measuri ... | 2019 | 30796100 |
| head stabilisation in fast running lizards. | the cyclic patterns of terrestrial animal locomotion are frequently perturbed in natural environments. the terrain can be complex or inclined, the substrate can move unexpectedly and animals can misjudge situations. loosing stability due to perturbations increases the probability of capture by predators and decreases the chance of successful prey capture and winning intraspecific battles. when controlled corrective actions are necessary to negotiate perturbations, animals rely on their exterocep ... | 2018 | 29456166 |
| contribution to the study of acanthodactylus (sauria: lacertidae) mtdna diversity focusing on the a. boskianus species group. | the acanthodactylus boskianus species group includes three species (a. boskianus, a. nilsoni, and a. schreiberi) of unclear phylogeny and phylogeographic history. by sequencing fragments of two mtdna genes and performing phylogenetic, demographic, and chronophylogenetic analyses, we aimed at identifying their phylogenetic relationships while unravelling their biogeographic history. the analyses indicated that a. boskianus is a species complex, while a. s. schreiberi and a. s. ataturi show, both, ... | 2016 | 27402069 |
| divergence of scent pheromones in allopatric populations of acanthodactylus boskianus (squamata: lacertidae). | the evolutionary phenomena associated with divergence in chemical signals between populations of the same species help to understand the process of speciation. animals detect and react to semiochemicals and pheromones used in communication. comparison between populations of the same species that are geographically isolated from one another allows us to determine the genetic or environmental factors responsible for chemical differentiation. acanthodactylus boskianus from the east and west of egyp ... | 2013 | 23646943 |
| a redescription of haemogregarina damiettae ramadan et al. 1996 naturally infecting the acanthodactylus boskianus from egypt, with new merognic data. | haemogregarina damiettae was previously described form acanthodactylus boskianus in egypt, and the description was base only on the blood stages with no data on the tissue stages. in the present study, both blood and tissue stages were encountered. the prevalence of infection was found to be 60 % (30/50). the blood stages were found to be confined to the erythrocytes and none in the leucocytes. the erythrocytic stages could be differentiated into small and large forms. the small form, trophozoit ... | 2013 | 23456022 |
| comparative study of the pheromone-manufacturing femoral glands in two sympatric species of lacertid lizards (acanthodactylus). | femoral glands are holocrine structures that produce compounds used by lizards as pheromones. few studies have investigated the morphology and ultrastructure of these glands. we chose a closely related species pair from a lizard family having femoral glands in male and female of both species to illustrate comparative morphology and ultrastructure and their implications for the mechanism of secretion dispersal to the environment. we also aimed to test whether the structure and mechanism of secret ... | 2013 | 23387845 |
| morphological characteristics of a new species of haemogregarina danilewsky, 1885 (apicomplexa: adeleorina) in naturally infected acanthodactylus boskianus (daudin) (sauria: lacertidae) in egypt. | this paper describes the morphological characteristics of a new species of haemogregarina danilewsky, 1885, from naturally infected acanthodactylus boskianus (daudin) in egypt, based on both blood and tissue stages. the prevalence of infection was found to be 66% (33/50). the blood stages were found to be confined to the erythrocytes and could be differentiated into small and large forms. the small form (trophozoites) measures 8 × 3.5 μm, whereas the large form (mature gamonts) measures 12 × 5 μ ... | 2012 | 22488433 |