Reproductive cycle of the oviparous lizard Sceloporus jalapae, from Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

Reproductive patterns vary widely among species and populations of squamates. In general, patterns can be divided into cyclic and acyclic. Cyclic patterns are common in tropical and temperate species of seasonal environments, while acyclic ones are characteristic of tropical species that inhabit less variable environments. We studied the reproductive cycle of Sceloporus jalapae, one of the smallest species of Sceloporus, in an arid environment at Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla, Mexico. Both sexes mature in the first year following hatching and exhibit a seasonal reproductive pattern with maximum activity in spring and summer that appears to be influenced by temperature. Unlike small species of Sceloporus that inhabit pine-oak and tropical forests, S. jalapae exhibits an extended period of reproductive activity that allows females to produce at least two clutches of 3-7 eggs each, and contrary to other species of Sceloporus, in this species there is no correlation between female length and clutch size. The reproductive pattern of S. jalapae is like that shown by other oviparous species of the genus; nevertheless, some life history traits of this species are shared with oviparous and viviparous species of small size. K E Y W O R D S

Reproductive biology of Gymnodactylus darwinii (Gray, 1845) (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) from southeastern Brazil

“…We determined clutch size based on the number of oviductal eggs. The number of possible clutches a female can produce during the year was based on the presence (or absence) of enlarged VFs found simultaneously with corpora lutea or oviduct eggs (Garda et al., 2012; González‐Espinoza et al., 2017).…”

“…Reptiles exhibit a diverse and highly variable set of reproductive patterns (Shine, 2005). In lizards, two general reproductive cycles are known: (a) aseasonal or continuous—typically observed on species from tropical areas with reproduction and gametogenesis (egg production) occurring throughout the year; and (b) seasonal or cyclical—observed on species from both temperate and tropical regions with reproduction and gametogenesis restricted to certain months of the year (Fitch, 1970; González‐Espinoza et al., 2017; Torki, 2007). In the latter, courtship, mating and copulation generally occurs at the beginning of the rainy season, incubation during the rainy season, and hatching at the end of the rainy season (Ramírez‐Bautista & Vitt, 1997).…”