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.

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.