Systematics of the Podarcis hispanicus complex (Sauria, Lacertidae) III: valid nomina of the western and central Iberian forms.

Recent genetic works have suggested that the Iberian wall lizard Podarcis hispanicus (Steindachner, 1870) sensu lato is a species complex. Several forms have already been elevated to species rank and linked to available nomina, but at least three still have to be formally named, including the western Iberian forms currently designated as Podarcis hispanicus "type 1A", "type 1B" and "type 2". The aim of the present work is to assign a valid nomen to these taxa.

Cytokines in the oviparity/viviparity transition: evidence of the interleukin-1 system in a species with reproductive bimodality, the lizard Lacerta vivipara.

Placental viviparity is a reproductive strategy usually attributed to mammals. However, it is also present in other vertebrate species, e.g.

Variation in eggshell characteristics and in intrauterine egg retention between two oviparous clades of the lizard Lacerta vivipara: insight into the oviparity-viviparity continuum in squamates.

The concept of the oviparity-viviparity continuum refers to the wide range in the length of intrauterine egg retention and, hence, in the stage of embryonic development at oviposition existing in squamates. The evolutionary process underlying this continuum may involve not only a lengthening of egg retention in utero, but also a marked reduction in the thickness of the eggshell. The idea that there may exist a negative correlation between the developmental stage reached by the embryo at oviposition and the eggshell thickness within squamates, although supported by the comparison of oviparous vs.