Variation in the cranium shape of wall lizards (Podarcis spp.): effects of phylogenetic constraints, allometric constraints and ecology

Patterns of cranial ontogeny in lacertid lizards: morphological and allometric disparity

“…In lizards, the ventral cranium is more susceptible to the different selective pressures related to diet and sexual selection (Herrel et al ., ; Ljubisavljević et al ., , ; Urošević et al ., ). Consequently, in comparison with the dorsal cranium, the disparity of the lacertid lizard ventral cranium could be driven by different functional and ecological constraints (see Zelditch et al ., ; Frédérich & Vandewalle, ; Urošević et al ., ).…”

“…Our study shows that allometry explained a high percentage of the cranium shape variation in the analysed lacertid lizard species. The ontogenetic shape changes correspond to the ontogenetic and static allometric patterns previously described for lacertid lizards (Bruner et al ., ; Bruner & Constantini, , ; Kaliontzopoulou et al ., ; Ljubisavljević et al ., , ; Piras et al ., ; Urošević et al ., ). The general anterior–posterior gradient is present, reflected by an elongation and narrowing of the cranium, growth of the dermal skeletal elements, an enlargement of the jaw adductor muscle chambers, a posterior shift of the fronto‐parietal suture and reduction in the cranial base.…”

“…We can also conclude that the effect of habitat preference is more obvious for the dorsal cranium, particularly in females, whereas the allometric patterns of the ventral cranium are further modified by different factors. Because the structures of the ventral cranium are directly involved in the mechanics of jaw movement, different functional requirements (related to different types of diet, territorial and mating behaviours, such as male territorial combats and grabbing females during copulation) could also influence ontogenetic trajectories of the ventral cranium (Verwaijen et al ., ; McBrayer & Anderson, ; Ljubisavljević et al ., , ; Urošević et al ., ).…”

“…using TpsDig software (Rohlf, ). The main criteria for the choice of these landmark configurations were the presence of the landmarks in all of the specimens, their reliability in providing an adequate summary of the cranial morphology and a concordance with previous studies of cranial size and shape variation in lacertid lizards (Ljubisavljević et al ., , ; Urošević et al ., ) (Fig. ; Table S2).…”

Variability of pterygoid teeth in three species of Podarcis lizards and the utility of palatal dentition in lizard systematics

“…These authors found pterygoid dentition in 10 of 33 (30.30%) and 1 of 3 (33.33%) of the specimens examined, respectively. This discordance may be a result of large morphological variation of P. siculus (e.g., Urošević et al 2012). Data from KleMMer (1957) give some support to the latter hypothesis of Costantini et al (2010); they show that males, which have peramorphic skulls (Piras et al 2011), on average have more teeth on pterygoids than do females.…”