Publication
Title
Reproductive characteristics of the island lacertid lizard Podarcis lilfordi
Author
Abstract
We report reproductive characteristics (clutch frequency, clutch size, egg and hatchling sizes) of the island lizard Podarcis lilfordi, studied in the laboratory. Individual females produced two or three consecutive clutches, composed of 2-4 eggs with an average mass of 0.63 g. Both clutch size and average egg mass were independent of female body length, and did not differ between the first and subsequent annual clutches. Among-clutch differences in egg mass were negatively correlated with clutch size, and this trade-off is independent of female size. Larger clutches were also composed of less elongated (i.e., rounder) eggs than are smaller clutches, suggesting that limitations posed by the females' body volume, rather than by restrictions of energy availability, induce the phenotypic trade-off between egg size and numbers. Egg shape was also related to female size: larger females laid shorter but wider eggs than smaller individuals, suggesting that egg width is constrained by the width of the female's pelvic girdle. Relative to other European lacertids with similar adult female body length, P. lilfordi produces clutches that are composed of very few,but extremely large eggs.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of herpetology. - Athens, Ohio, 1968, currens
Publication
Athens, Ohio : 2000
ISSN
0022-1511
DOI
10.2307/1565362
Volume/pages
34 :3 (2000) , p. 390-396
ISI
000089448600009
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 03.01.2013
Last edited 23.08.2022
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