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

We explored the ontogenetic dynamics of the morphological and allometric disparity in the cranium shapes of twelve lacertid lizard species. The analysed species (Darevskia praticola, Dinarolacerta mosorensis, Iberolacerta horvathi, Lacerta agilis, L. trilineata, L. viridis, Podarcis erhardii, P. mel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of evolutionary biology 2013-02, Vol.26 (2), p.399-415
Main Authors: Urosevic, A, Ljubisavljevic, K, Ivanovic, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
allometry
Animals
cranium
Evolutionary biology
Female
Genetic diversity
Lacertilia
Lizards - anatomy & histology
Lizards - classification
Lizards - growth & development
Male
morphological disparity
Morphology
Multivariate Analysis
ontogenetic trajectories
Phylogeny
Reptiles & amphibians
Skull - anatomy & histology
Skull - growth & development
Species Specificity
Zootoca vivipara
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Summary:We explored the ontogenetic dynamics of the morphological and allometric disparity in the cranium shapes of twelve lacertid lizard species. The analysed species (Darevskia praticola, Dinarolacerta mosorensis, Iberolacerta horvathi, Lacerta agilis, L. trilineata, L. viridis, Podarcis erhardii, P. melisellensis, P. muralis, P. sicula, P. taurica and Zootoca vivipara) can be classified into different ecomorphs: terrestrial lizards that inhabit vegetated habitats (habitats with lush or sparse vegetation), saxicolous and shrub‐climbing lizards. We observed that there was an overall increase in the morphological disparity (MD) during the ontogeny of the lacertid lizards. The ventral cranium, which is involved in the mechanics of jaw movement and feeding, showed higher levels of MD, an ontogenetic shift in the morphospace planes and more variable allometric patterns than more conserved dorsal crania. With respect to ecology, the allometric trajectories of the shrub‐climbing species tended to cluster together, whereas the allometric trajectories of the saxicolous species were highly dispersed. Our results indicate that the ontogenetic patterns of morphological and allometric disparity in the lacertid lizards are modified by ecology and functional constraints and that the identical mechanisms that lead to intraspecific morphological variation also produce morphological divergence at higher taxonomic levels.
ISSN:1010-061X
1420-9101
DOI:10.1111/jeb.12059