Tibor Sos and Gábor Herczeg // Russian Journal of Herpetology Vol. 16, No. 4, 2009, pp. 304 – 310

The direction and magnitude of inter-sexual differences in body and head size in one eastern slow-worm (A. f. colchica) population were investigated. We compared morphological measures of 92 male and 127 female adult A. f. colchica from a single population. In line with our expectations, we found that females were generally larger, but males had larger relative head size. At similar growth rate a disproportionate increase of head size in males and respectively of body size in females are pointed. The sexual difference in relative head size increased with the size (a proxy for age) of the animals. Our results fits well to the general theory, especially when studies of the reproductive biology of the species — reporting vigorous male-male combats, the presence of copulatory bites, and showing that female fecundity is size dependent — is taken into account. However, considering this generalist species, another common hypothesis suspecting dietary divergence between sexes behind sexual differences in relative head size is not likely to represent a strong evolutionary pressure in this case.

Валуев В.А., Загорская В.В. // Редкие и исчезающие виды животных и растений Республики Башкортостан. Материалы ведения Красной книги Республики Башкортостан за 2020 год (Сентябрь). Выпуск XXIX. Уфа, 2020. Стр. 15 - 16

Holly Harkness & Steven J. R. Allain // The Herpetological Bulletin 152, 2020: 43

Daniel Jablonski & Adrian Purkart // The Herpetological Bulletin 145, 2018: 35-36

Krisztian Szabo and Judit Voros // Amphibia-Reptilia 35 (2014) 135 - 140

Slow worms (Anguis spp.) are widely distributed in Europe. Based on pronounced divergences in molecular markers the subspecies of the slow worm, Anguis fragilis, have been recently elevated to species level. In Hungary both A. fragilis and A. colchica are present in the mountainous areas with their range being separated by the Danube River with potential contact zones in the Danube valley. Based on morphology, hybridization of the two taxa has been described earlier from the Budai and Pilis Mountains. In order to reveal the exact distribution and confirm hybridization of Anguis taxa in Hungary we analyzed fragments of mitochondrial (ND2) and nuclear (Rag1) genes in 36 specimens from eight regions of Hungary and adjacent countries. The results confirmed the previously known distribution pattern with an east-west split along the Danube River and supported the morphological findings about hybridization in the Budai and Pilis Mountains.

Grzegorz Skorzewski // Chrońmy Przyr. Ojcz. 73 (1): 57–63, 2017

Padalcowate to rodzina jaszczurek obejmująca około 70 gatunków. W Polsce występują dwa gatunki z rodzaju Anguis: padalec zwyczajny Anguis fragilis L. i padalec kolchidzki Anguis colchica (Nordmann), zwany również padalcem wschodnim. Podobny wygląd i zajmowanie zbliżonych siedlisk sprawiają, że oba gatunki łatwo pomylić. Informacje o rozmieszczeniu w Polsce padalca kolchidzkiego są niewystarczające, a sam gatunek pozostaje nieobjęty ochroną. Artykuł przedstawia kwestię podziału taksonomicznego rodzaju Anguis na pięć gatunków i wskazuje wiążące się z tym implikacje dla ochrony rodzimej herpetofauny. Dodatkowo przedstawiono cechy morfologiczne wykorzystywane w taksonomii rodzaju, a także obecny stan wiedzy i wyniki badań prowadzonych nad zasięgiem występowania padalca kolchidzkiego w Polsce.

Vaclav Gvozdík, Norbert Benkovsky, Angelica Crottini, Adriana Bellati, Jiri Moravec, Antonio Romano, Roberto Sacchi, David Jandzik // Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69 (2013) 1077–1092

Four species of legless anguid lizard genus Anguis have been currently recognized: A. fragilis from western and central Europe, A. colchica from eastern Europe and western Asia, A. graeca from southern Balkans, and A. cephallonica from the Peloponnese. Slow worms from the Italian Peninsula have been considered conspecific with A. fragilis, despite the fact that the region served as an important speciation center for European flora and fauna, and included some Pleistocene glacial refugia. We used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to investigate the systematic and phylogenetic position of the Italian slow-worm populations and morphological analyses to test for phenotypic differentiation from A. fragilis from other parts of Europe. Our phylogenetic analyses revealed that Italian slow worms form a distinct deeply differentiated mtDNA clade, which presumably diverged during or shortly after the basal radiation within the genus Anguis. In addition, the specimens assigned to this clade bear distinct haplotypes in nuclear PRLR gene and show morphological differentiation from A. fragilis. Based on the differentiation in all three independent markers, we propose to assign the Italian clade species level under the name Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818. The newly recognized species is distributed throughout the Italian Peninsula to the Southern Alps and south-eastern France. We hypothesize that the Tertiary Alpine orogeny with subsequent vicariance might have played a role in differentiation of this species. The current genetic variability was later presumably shaped in multiple glacial refugia within the Italian Peninsula, with the first splitting event separating populations from the region of the Dolomite Mountains.

Daniel Jablonski and Petr Meduna // Herpetology Notes, volume 3: 295-296 (2010)

Tomasz Strzałaa , Renata Grochowalskab, Bartłomiej Najbarc, Anna Najbard and Daniel Jablonskie // Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources, 2017, VOL. 2, NO. 1, 67–68

Here, we present complete mitochondrial genome of the Eastern Slow Worm, Anguis colchica (Nordmann, 1840). Mitogenome complete sequence is 17,097 bp long and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and one control region. Anguis colchica mitochondrial genome has the same gene order as other mitogenomes of Anguis spp. Their analyzed genome has base composition as: A (30.4%), T (24.6%), C (30.4%), G (14.6%), with an AþT bias (55%). Length of the all 22 tRNA genes varies from 65 to 73 bp with an average of 69 bp. Presented mitogenome will provide new data for phylogenetic analysis within the genus Anguis.

Paweł Kaczmarek, Grzegorz Skórzewski // 18th European Congress of Herpetology: Wrocław, Poland

Do Anguis fragilis L. and Anguis colchica (Nordman, 1840) hybridize in the south central part of Poland? Morphological signs of introgression between two species of slow worm and range of Anguis colchica in Poland – preliminary results of research Recent nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed 5 clades within genus Anguis which elevated to the species level. However, hybrid specimens between some of these taxa were detected. Two slow worm species occurred in Poland: A. fragilis and A. colchica incerta. Still little is known with regard to the exact distribution contact zone of these two forms. However, the occurrence of A. fragilis is associated with the western part of the country whereas the occurrence of A. colchica is associated with the eastern part of the country. It appears that, the western border of A. colchica in Poland is river Wisła, but some data show that is possible that the specie is crossing that river, and it range is wider. The specimens from a number of populations in Poland were measured. Morphometric (obtained by „"traditionaly”" and truss network measurements), meristic and qualitative characteristics were used in the research. Study revealed intermediate morphotype of some populations. This may reflect occurrence of a hybridization zone and the existence of introgression between A. fragilis and A. colchica. In this study we discuss these two explanation of observed morphological differentiation and propose a distribution of contact zone between two species of slow worm in Poland.

Daniel Jablonski, Bartłomiej Najbar, Renata Grochowalska,Vaclav Gvozdík, Tomasz Strzała // Amphibia-Reptilia 38 (2017): 562-569

Five slow-worm species are distributed in the Palearctic region. Two species, Anguis fragilis and A. colchica, are native to Central Europe, where only limited information on the phylogeography of the genus exists. Here, we examined the situation in Poland and surrounding regions, where a mitochondrial contact zone between the species is expected. We used new mitochondrial DNA sequences and available published data from Central Europe and the northern Balkans. Haplotypes of both species were recorded in the study area. Anguis fragilis is represented by a single haplogroup, while A. colchica by three haplogroups. This suggests four independent sources/refugia for postglacial colonization of northern Central Europe. The mitochondrial contact zone seems to mirror the borders between lowlands of the North European Plain and East European Plain, and the south-eastern Poland uplands, while the Vistula River does not constitute a barrier. The presence of both species, A. fragilis and A. colchica, in Poland should also be considered for protection by the Polish conservation legislation.