Niche diversification of Mediterranean and southwestern Asian tortoises.

Background: Tortoises of the genus are widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean region and southwestern Asia. However, the evolutionary mechanisms of diversification in this genus are still poorly understood.

Methods: In this study, we assessed the evolutionary patterns in the climate niches of five species and 11 subspecies of the genus using ecological niche models and evaluated the niche overlap based on species phylogenetic distances.

Comparative larval morphology in three species of (Urodela: Salamandridae).

The Ribbed newts (genus Pleurodeles) are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa (Raffaëlli 2013), and comprise three species: Pleurodeles nebulosus (Guichenot 1850), Pleurodeles poireti (Gervais 1836) and Pleurodeles waltl Michahelles 1830. Pleurodeles nebulosus is found in northern Algeria and Tunisia with an average size of 18 cm, while P. poireti is endemic to the Edough Massif, in northeastern Algeria and is the smallest species, with 12.

Diversity of Guilds of Amphibian Larvae in North-Western Africa.

The composition and diversity of biotic assemblages is regulated by a complex interplay of environmental features. We investigated the influence of climate and the aquatic habitat conditions on the larval traits and the structure of amphibian larval guilds in north-western Africa. We classified the species into morphological groups, based on external traits: body shape, size, and the relative positions of the eyes and oral apparatus.