Lipophilic Compounds from the Femoral Gland Secretions of Male Hungarian Green Lizards, Lacerta viridis

Abstract

In spite of the importance of chemical signals (pheromones) in the reproductive behaviour of lizards, only a few studies have examined the role of specifi c chemical compounds as sexual signals. The secreted chemicals vary widely between species but whether this variation refl ects phylogenetic or environmental differences remains unclear. Based on mass spectra, obtained by GC-MS, we found 40 lipophilic compounds in femoral gland secretions of male green lizards (Lacerta viridis), including several steroids, α-tocopherol, and esters of n-C 16 to n-C 20 carboxylic acids, and minor components such as alcohols between C 12 and C 20 , squalene, three lactones and one ketone. We compared these chemicals with those previously found in other closely related green lizard species, and discussed how phylogenetical differences and/or environmental conditions could be responsible for the differential presence of chemicals in different lizard species.

Chemical Constituents of the Femoral Gland Secretions of Male Tegu Lizards (Tupinambis merianae) (Family Teiidae)

“…Their main possible function in secretions might be to inhibit oxidation of other lipids in secretions (see Alberts, 1992), as it occurs in lacertid green lizard species inhabiting wet environments Kopena et al, 2009;Martín and López, 2010b).…”

“…However, the chemical composition of femoral gland secretions has been analysed in only a few lizard species (reviewed in Weldon et al, 2008). Most information relates to European lizards of the family Lacertidae (López and Martín, 2005b, c, 2006López, 2006b, c, 2010b;Gabirot el al., 2008;Kopena et al, 2009), American lizards of the families Iguanidae (Weldon et al, 1990;Alberts et al, 1992) and Liolaemidae (Escobar et al, 2001(Escobar et al, , 2003, and an African cordylid lizard (Louw et al, 2007). However, there are many lizard species within other taxonomic lineages and geographical areas that have femoral pores with abundant secretions, which have never been chemically analysed, in spite of secretions being often related to chemical communication (see reviews by Weldon et al, 2008;Mason and Parker, 2010).…”

Condition-dependent chemosignals in reproductive behavior of lizards

“…Femoral (or precloacal or preanal) secretions of lizards are composed of proteins and many lipophilic compounds that may function as chemosignals Weldon et al, 2008). However, the specific chemical compounds found in secretions are only known for a few species, including several species of lacertids (Gabirot et al, 2008(Gabirot et al, , 2010aKhannoon et al, 2011aKhannoon et al, , 2011bKopena et al, 2009;López and Martín, 2005b, 2005cMartín and López, 2006c, 2006dMartín et al, 2013c), an African cordylid (Louw et al, 2007), an American teid , several iguanians (Alberts, 1990;Alberts et al, 1992aAlberts et al, , 1992bEscobar et al, 2001Escobar et al, , 2003Weldon et al, 1990), agamids (Chauhan, 1986;, gekkonids (Chauhan, 1986;Khannoon, 2012) and one amphisbaenian Martín, 2005d, 2009b). Among the lipophilic compounds secreted, steroids, fatty acids, alcohols, waxy esters, squalene, tocopherol, ketones and aldehydes are commonly found in different proportions (reviewed in Weldon et al, 2008).…”

“…heightened immune response, lower parasite load) or higher "quality" (Kopena et al, 2009;López and Martín, 2005a;López et al, 2002bLópez et al, , 2003aMartín and López, 2000, 2006a, 2006b), a better body condition (Huyghe et al, 2012;Martín and López, 2010b) or of a higher genetic compatibility (i.e. inbreeding avoidance) (Olsson et al, 2003).…”

“…This relationship between diet and secretions is important because vitamin E is the main compound in secretions of green lizards (Kopena et al, 2009;, and females seem to prefer areas scent-marked by males with large proportions of vitamin E in secretions (Kopena et al, 2011), suggesting that this compound may function as a chemosignal probably indicating the quality of the male (i.e. the ability to obtain or select food of high quality) or his territory (i.e.…”