Рыжов М. К., Романова Е. Б., Бакиев А. Г. // Современная герпетология. 2023. Т. 23, вып. 3 4. С. 119 - 123

Измерены длина тела без хвоста (L.) и длина неповрежденного хвоста (L. cd.) у 91 самца и 110 самок Anguis colchica из Чамзинского района Республики Мордовия. Проведен сравнительный анализ трех морфометрических признаков (L., L. cd., L. / L. cd.) самцов и самок с построением вариационных рядов и использованием частотного подхода. Диапазон изменчивости L. и L. cd. (от 120 до 279 мм) разбили на 8 классов, из которых по длине тела без хвоста самцы были представлены в семи, самки – в восьми классах; по длине хвоста самцы были представлены в шести, самки – в восьми классах. Длина хвоста зависела от длины тела у самцов (r = 0.903, p < 0.001, R² = 0.81) и самок (r = 0.925, p < 0.001, R² = 0.857). Доли самцов и самок с длиной тела 159 мм и меньше в выборке не различались (р = 0.337), в средних размерных классах (от 160 до 199 мм) преобладали самцы (р = 0.05), в размерных классах больше 220 мм – самки (р = 0.021). В размерном классе 200 – 219 мм преобладали длиннохвостые самки.

Meulen B., Hakkaart, Q. // Aeres Hogeschool, 2017

Door de versnippering van natuurgebieden in Nederland raken populaties van dieren ontkoppeld, met als gevolg dat genetische variaties kan afnemen en de populatie verzwakt. De Anguis fragilis (Hazelworm) is een dier dat zich moeilijk verplaatst en kan gevoelig zijn voor de effecten van versnippering. Om te controleren of de populatie zich in stand houdt ten opzichte van de versnippering moeten de populaties worden gemonitord. Door de verborgen levensstijl van de A. fragilis is vangen-merken-terugvangen een geschikte methode om hazelwormen te monitoren en een accurate populatieschatting te maken.

Riddell A. //  Reptile Surveys Methods, English Nature Science Series No. 20, (1996), pp 46-60.

Slow-worms Anguis fragilis Linnaeus and common lizards Lacerta vivipara Jacquin are both regarded as widespread lizard species, but are known to have been declining in Britain in recent years. This study set out to discover their use of different habitats within the same Canterbury nature reserve, with the aim of pinpointing optimal habitat and identifying the most successful refugia materials, and involved devising an individual recognition system for use in the field. The study period included a sustained summer drought, which appeared to cause a slow-worm population crash.

Hubble D. S. and Hurst D. T. // Herpetological Bulletin [2006] - Number 97, pp. 8 - 13

Proposed redevelopment work in Petersfield, Hampshire required capture and translocation of Slow-worms to fulfil the legal obligations of 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act (as amended). Numbers of adult males, adult females and juveniles were recorded. Only 3 of 577 Slow-worms captured were found moving or basking on the surface. On days with high capture rates, females and juveniles were more active. The disturbance pattern due to sampling, as well as human activity not related to translocation, affected capture rates. The settling-in period for refugia was not as important as believed. When translocating Slow-worms, it is important to ensure significant capture effort is made throughout the season rather than attempting to choose ‘suitable’ conditions. It is also important to ensure that the density of refugia placement is as high as possible.

Smith N. // University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis, 229 pp.

The slow-worm, Anguis fraqilis, is a legless lizard in the family Anguidae. The ecology of the species was studied by weekly visits to two sites on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England from 1981 to 1988. Other sites were visited less often. Animals were found under pieces of corrugated iron sheet that had been placed on the ground. Adults were photographed and identified on recapture by the pattern on the underside of the head. Pregnant females were retained in captivity until the birth of the young. A total of 3456 slow-worms were found. Capture rates of known individuals were low, often less than once a year. There were differences in rate of captures of four sex and size class over the season. Males predominated in spring, females were found most often in summer and sub-adults and juveniles were commonest in autumn. Rates of movement were low. There was no evidence of territory formation. Mating was only observed once. Females with sperm in the cloaca were found in May. The litters of 1 to 18 (average 8) were born in late summer. Larger females had larger litters but not larger young. In 1986, litter sizes were small with many of the young deformed. The sex ratios were not equal. The bias was to females at one site and to males at the other. Cloacal temperatures, low for a temperate reptile, ranged from 9.8 to 33.2 "C, with a median of 24.9 °C. There was little evidence of precise thermoregulation. Cloacal temperatures were highest in summer on sunny days, but varied little with time of day. The distribution in the Iberian peninsula was shown by discriminant function analysis to be correlated with cooler, wetter climates.

Ivan Telenchev, Daniela Simeonovska-Nikolova and Venislava Spasova // North-Western Journal of Zoology (2021) 17 (1): 77-81

The ability of sensing chemical cues is a common way for reptiles to recognize predators, mates and potential competitors. To characterise the model of anti-predatory behaviour of the Slow worm Anguis fragilis and the Eastern Slow worm A. colchica their response to the odour of the Nose-horned viper, Vipera ammodytes and the Balkan adder, V. berus bosniensis was studied in laboratory conditions. The experiments were carried out between May and July 2016-2017 with 10 individuals of A. colchica (5 adults and 5 juveniles) and 11 individuals of A. fragilis (6 males and 5 females, all adults). As stimuli, we used a clean swab as a control and a swab impregnated with scents from the snakes. The behavioural responses of the two slow worms to the stimuli were recorded and compared. The results showed that individuals from both A. colchica and A. fragilis recognize the odour of both potential predators – Vipera ammodytes and V. berus bosniensis. However, in A. colchica, adult individuals took a higher risk than juveniles, and in A. fragilis males took a higher risk than females, probably due to their different life strategies and functions in populations. 

Tibor Sos // Herpetologica Romanica Vol. 4, 2010, pp.29-44

Qualitative and quantitative data were used in the differentiation of the subspecies of Anguis fragilis. Now the same characters could be used for morphological differentiation in the species complex of A. fragilis. Earlier studies dealing with this topic failed to investigate high numbers of specimens from one locality. Thus the constancy or the continuity of respective characters has never been investigated in one particular population. As consistent data from one population were available from the Corner of Carpathians area (central part of Romania), this was one of the issues considered in this study. In several recent studies with similar purposes the specimen data were used without segregation by sex. The second goal of this study was to identify the effect of sexual dimorphism on these characters. The studied population belongs to the eastern subspecies, A. f. colchica (Nordmann, 1840), as was previously reported for other populations from the area. Recently the form is described as part of the new species A. colchica (Nordmann, 1840) as A. c. incerta, Krynicki, 1837. The presence or absence of ear openings and the number of longitudinal series of scales shows the highest constancy in investigated specimens. The occurence of a blue-spotted form, the contrast in color between back and flanks and the state of the vertebral line showed differences in sexes. The blue spotted morph appears mostly in larger male lizards. The contrast between back and flanks and the vertebral line in most females remain in juvenile stage, while in large males they usually disappear. 

Tibor Sos // North-Western Journal of Zoology (2011) 7 (1): 171-175

High spot polymorphism and a high frequency of blue spotted morph is reported from an Anguis colchica population in Romania (Rupea, Braşov County). Although the blue-spotted morph is mostly exhibited in males, the morph was recorded in females also – feature characteristic to the eastern clades. The blue-spotted morph in females here seems to be size-related. The blue-spotted females are larger, thus older females. The appearance of the blue spots is considered connected to the maturation process in the lizard.

Басов С.А. // Устойчивое развитие науки и образования. 2020. № 8. С. 46 - 48

В статье представлены данные по распространению веретеницы ломкой (Anguis fragilis) на территории Ярославской области. Впервые указаны четыре новых места обитания в области. Описываются особенности местообитания и численность вида.

Литвинов Н.А., Ганщук С.В.  // Самарская Лука: проблемы региональной и глобальной экологии. Самарская Лука. 2009. – Т. 18, № 1. – С. 86-90.

В статье использованы литературные и собственные материалы, касающиеся микроклиматических условий обитания ломкой веретеницы Anguis fragilis в Камском Предуралье. Рассматриваются температура тела, микроклиматическая характеристика мест обитания (мощность солнечной радиации, состоящая из мощности ультрафиолетового излучения, видимого света, поступающего и возвращённого грунтом тепла, а также относительная влажность приземного слоя воздуха). Делается вывод о невысоком оптимуме температуры тела веретеницы.

Lac J.  // Biologia (ČSSR). 1967. T. 22. № 12. S. 907-914.

Туниев Б.С. // Актуальные вопросы , экологии и охраны природы экосистем южных регионов России и сопредельных территорий. Краснодар, 2001. С. 144-146.

Norbert Benkovský, Jiří Moravec, Veronika Gvoždíková Javůrková, Helena Šifrová, Václav Gvoždík and David Jandzik // Peer J 9 (2021)

The application of molecular-phylogenetic approaches to taxonomy has had a dramatic effect on our understanding of the diversity of reptiles. These approaches have allowed researchers to reveal previously hidden lineages as well as taxonomic overestimation in morphologically plastic taxa. Slow worms, legless lizards of the genus Anguis (Squamata: Anguidae), were previously considered to comprise either one or two species, and morphology-based intraspecific taxonomy of Anguis fragilis remained controversial throughout the 20th century. After the discovery of deep genetic divergences within the genus, its taxonomy was reconsidered, and as a result, five extant species have been recognized. In order to better understand the patterns of their interspecific differentiation, here we studied phenotypic differences between the two most widespread of them — A. fragilis and A. colchica, and their putative hybrids across the contact zone of both species in Central Europe.

Daniel Jablonski, Neftalí Sillero, Oleksandra Oskyrko, Adriana Bellati, Andris Ceirflans, Marc Cheylan, Dan Cogalniceanu, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailoviс, Pierre-Andre Crochet, Angelica Crottini, Igor Doronin, Georg Džukic, Philippe Geniez, Cetin Ilgaz, Ruben Iosif, David Jandzik, Dušan Jelic, Spartak Litvinchuk, Katarina Ljubisavljevic, Petros Lymberakis, Peter Mikulícek, Edvard Mizsei, Jirí Moravec, Bartłomiej Najbar, Maciej Pabijan, Mihails Pupins, Patricia Sourrouille, Ilias Strachinis, Marton Szabolcs, Evanthia Thanou, Elias Tzoras, Vladislav Vergilov, Judit Vörös, Vaclav Gvoždík // Amphibia-Reptilia (2021)

The slow-worm lizards (Anguis) comprise five species occurring throughout most of the Western Palearctic. Although these species are relatively uniform morphologically – with the exception of A. cephallonica, which exhibits a quite unique morphology – they are genetically deeply divergent. Here, we provide detailed distribution maps for each species and discuss their biogeography and conservation based on updated genetic data and a robust distribution database. We pay particular attention to the so called ‘grey zone’, which typically represents secondary contact zones and in some cases confirmed or presumed hybrid zones. Four of the five species live in parapatry, while only two species, A. cephallonica and A. graeca from the southern Balkans occur in partial sympatry. Further research should focus on the eco-evolutionary interactions between species in contact, including their hybridization rates, to reveal deeper details of the slow-worm evolutionary and natural history.

Václav Gvoždík, Zdenek Harca, Alexandra Hánova, Daniel Jablonski, Mihails Pupins, Andris Ceirans, Timo Paasikunnas // Amphibia-Reptilia (2021)

Five European slow worms (Anguis) have mostly parapatric distributions. Two species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, are widely distributed across the western and eastern parts of the genus range. Their contact zone runs from the north-eastern Balkans, through Pannonia to northern Central Europe. In northern Poland, the contact zone has been located approximately between the North and East European Plains. Here, we present the first mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data from Finlandand the coastal Baltics. We demonstrate thatA. fragilis enters the East European Plains, where it is presumably distributedalong the Baltic coast. Our data indicate thatA. colchicais present more inland and to the north of Riga. The genetic structuresuggests three independent postglacial colonization events in the Baltics (two byA. colchica). The presence of the two species,A. fragilis and A. colchica, should be considered by the conservation legislations of Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.