Lizard species have diverse behavioral and physiological responses to thermo-environmental conditions, which allow them to inhabit a broad range of latitudes and elevations. Because the availability of suitable thermal resources is limited and more variable at high-elevation environments than at lower elevations, we expect high-elevation lizards to be constrained in their thermoregulation relative to lizards at lower elevations by the fewer available thermal resources to reach optimal temperatures (colder environment). We studied the thermal biology of an endemic and Critically Endangered lizard, Liolaemus aparicioi, to assess its thermal responses along a 1000 m elevational gradient in La Paz Valley from May to August of 2015 (dry season).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Liolaemus montanus group is a diverse group of lizards that ranges from central Peru to southwestern Mendoza, Argentina, including much of the Plurinational State of Bolivia ("Bolivia") and Chile. The species of this group mainly inhabit high elevation areas with cold temperatures. In the last years, several species of this group have been described, mostly in Argentina and Chile.
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