Vaclav Gvozdik, Tadeas Necas, Daniel Jablonski, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Alan R. Lemmon, David Jandzik, Jiri Moravec // Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 180 (2023) 107674

A dated phylogenetic hypothesis on the evolutionary history of the extant taxa of the Western Palearctic lizards Anguis and Pseudopus is revised using genome-wide nuclear DNA and mitogenomes. We found overall concordance between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA phylogenies, with one significant exception – the Apennine A. veronensis. In mitochondrial DNA, this species forms a common clade with the earliest diverging lineage, the southern Balkan endemic A. cephallonica, while it clusters together with A. fragilis in nuclear DNA. The nuclear phylogeny conforms to the morphology, which is relatively similar between A. veronensis and A. fragilis. The most plausible explanation for the mitonuclear discordance is ancient mitochondrial capture from the Balkan ancestor of A. cephallonica to the Apennine population of the A. fragilis-veronensis ancestor. We hypothesize that this capture occurred only in a geographically restricted population. The dating of this presumed mitochondrial introgression and capture coincides with the Messinian event, when the Balkan and Apennine Peninsulas were presumably largely connected. The dated nuclear phylogenomic reconstruction estimated the divergence of A. cephallonica around 12 Mya, while the sister clade representing the A. fragilis species complex consisting of the sister species A. fragilis–A. veronensis and A. colchica–A. graeca further diversified around 7 Mya. The depth of nuclear divergence among the evolutionary lineages of Pseudopus (0.5–1.2 Mya) supports their subspecies status.

Желанкин Р.В., Скотникова И.Г. // Эволюционная и сравнительная психология в России: Современные исследования. – 2021. – С. 92-97

Работа является частью цикла исследований характеристик принятия решения рептилиями в зрительных задачах выбора из альтернатив.

Желанкин Р. В. // Известия Иркутского государственного университета. Серия Психология. 2021. Т. 36. С. 16–37.

Изучались экологически значимые для рептилий способности к зрительному различению пространственных и цветовых стимулов, а именно: поведение безногих ящериц веретениц ломких в Т-образном лабиринте при зрительном различении красного и зеленого цветовых тонов и размеров геометрических фигур круглой формы. Анализировались основные поведенческие характеристики принятия решения при выборе из возможных вариантов: процент ошибочных выборов, время выбора и число поворотов ящериц в стороны альтернативных путей в лабиринте к сравниваемым стимулам до выбора одного из них. При цветоразличении все эти три поведенческие характеристики были минимальными, а при различении размеров геометрических фигур более высокими. Делается вывод, что различение красного и зеленого цветовых тонов у веретениц было более успешным и менее трудным, чем различение размеров геометрических фигур круглой формы.

Тимофеев А.Н. //  Бюл. МОИП. Отд. биол. 2017. Т. 122. Вып. 4. С. 19-23

Рассмотрены поведенческие особенности безногой ящерицы веретеницы Anguis fragilis L., 1758 на лесных дорогах центра Русской равнины. Отмечены негативная роль эффекта затаивания веретениц на дорогах при приближении опасности, а также их неспособность быстро передвигаться по ровной поверхности дорог. Эти особенности, наряду с уничтожением веретениц человеком, – существенный фактор снижения численности данного вида.

Stanisław Bury, Aleksandra Kolanek, Grzegorz Skórzewski , Katarzyna Kurek, Bartłomiej Zając, Bartłomiej Najbar and Bartosz Borczyk // Folia Biologica (Kraków), Volume 71, Number 1, 2023, pp. 45-51(7)

The blue-spotted phenotype in a slow worm can be considered as an alternative colour morph or a secondary sexual characteristic. This phenotype is known to entail an elevated predation risk; thus, its continuous presence in a population must be balanced by additional and positive fitness consequences. In this study, we show that blue-spotted males are characterised by a greater snout-vent length (SVL) than typical specimens. Importantly, the SVL of blue-spotted males reaches the magnitude of the average female size. This indicates that the presence of blue spots may involve a correlated positive effect on growth and body size. The greater body size of the blue-spotted males could enhance their survival and mating success, and thus facilitate the continued presence of a high fraction of this morph within the population. In addition, we found that the blue-spotted phenotype is more common in the eastern than the western slow worm, and the proposed fitness consequences of the blue-spotted phenotype might enhance its tendency to spread in the eastern Anguis lineage.

Thomas Haley // Phyllomedusa 13(2):91–98, 2014

A metapopulation is a group of spatially structured populations, consisting of distinct units (subpopulations) that are separated by space or barriers, and connected by dispersal movements. Evidence derived from Gaussian finite-mixture models and dispersal events suggests that slow-worms may exist in a metapopulation. The Gaussian finite-mixture models showed that slow-worms are aggregated into individual subpopulations; the movement data revealed that males are more likely to migrate than females and that they have the ability to travel sufficiently far to bridge subpopulations. Therefore, the evidence supports the metapopulation theory and that slow-worms exist in multiple small subpopulations instead of one large homogenous population.

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.