The Herpetological Journal

pp.89-97

Authors: Monique Van Sluys , Henri Maximiliano A. Mendes , Vinicius B. Assis And Mara Cíntia Kiefer

Abstract: The reproductive and fat body cycles of the lizard Tropidurus montanus (Tropiduridae) were studied in a seasonal, open habitat at Minas Gerais State, south-eastern Brazil. Lizards were sampled monthly from June 1996 to June 1997. Reproductive females were found from August to January. The smallest reproductive female was 56.5 mm in body size, and was collected in December. Mean clutch size (± 1 SO), based on counts of eggs or follicles, was 3.48± 1.15, and was significantly related to female body size. Reproductive males were found throughout the year, but their frequency of occurrence varied greatly between months. The smallest reproductive male had a SVL of 60.6 mm, and was collected in August. For both sexes, fat-body mass (adjusted for body length) was greatest during the non-reproductive season.

Keywords: lizards, reproduction, seasonality, south-eastern Brazil, Tropidurus

pp.99-104

Authors: Carmen Díaz-paniagua, Mariano Cuadrado, Ma. Carmen Blázquez And José A. Mateo

Abstract: Reproductive characteristics of Chamaeleo chamaeleon are described and compared between a dry and a wet year. Nesting occurred in September and October, beginning later in the dry year when females also excavated their nests in longer (but not deeper) tunnels. Females were significantly smaller, with lower body mass, lower clutch mass and lower clutch size in the dry year. Relative clutch mass and body condition did not differ between the two years. Females laid a single clutch of 4-40 eggs, with a mean relative clutch mass of 60-70%. Clutch size was correlated with maternal size, being larger in the wet year, whereas egg variables were independent of maternal characteristics. Higher mortality rate was recorded in the dry than in the wet year. The observed variation in reproductive output may be explained as a consequence of lower availability of food resources in the dry year, resulting in lower fecundity and survival of females.

Keywords: chameleons, clutch size, environmental influence, maternal condition

pp.105-114

Authors: Ronald E. Willemsen And Adrian Hailey

Abstract: Body mass and length data from large samples of wild Testudo graeca, T. hermanni and T. marginala in Greece were used to assess body mass condition. Mass-length relationships differed significantly between the sexes (females being heavier) and among the species ( T. marginata being least heavy). Mass-length relationships for each species and sex were used to calculate the condition index (Cl) log (M/M'), where M is observed mass and M' is mass predicted from length, which is equal to residuals from the regression of log M on log length. It was possible to use the empirical mass-length relationships from one population of T. hermanni to calculate Cl in other populations of substantially different adult size. The seasonal pattern of the Cl varied with latitude, with a sharper and later peak further north, and habitat, declining more in summer at a xeric coastal site. The seasonal patterns of Cl in T. graeca and T. marginala were similar, with sharper and later peaks compared to T. hermanni. These seasonal patterns of Cl were related to differences in activity and food availability among species and sites. The variability of the Cl was similar in all three species, with most values between -0. 1 and +0. 1; seasonal variation was of relatively low amplitude, with a range of about 0.05 between the highest and lowest monthly means.

Keywords: condition index, season, Testudo graeca, Testudo hermanni, Testudo marginata

pp.115-121

Authors: R. E. Willemsen, A. Hailey, S. Longepierre And C. Grenot

Abstract: The condition index (Cl) of the tortoises Testudo graeca, T. hermanni hermanni, T. h. boettgeri and T. marginata was examined in captivity in southern and northern Europe. The CI was calculated using mass-length relationships of wild tortoises: log (M/M'), where M is observed mass and M' is mass predicted from length. The mass-length relationships differed slightly between the subspecies of T. hermanni. Captive tortoises at the Centro Carapax ( Italy) and the Oosterbeek Tortoise Study Centre (The Netherlands) had Cl within the same range as wild tortoises, so there was no general effect of captivity on body mass condition even at densities ten times the highest observed in the wild. However, the seasonal pattern of CJ at Oosterbeek differed significantly from that of wild tortoises, with a peak in late summer rather than in spring. Low Cl of tortoises in some enclosures at the Centro Carapax prompted supplementary feeding before their health was affected. Tortoises at SOPTOM (France) during a period of disease had significantly lower Cl than wild tortoises, with mean CJ of -0.04 and mean relative mass (M/M') of 91 %. The Cl offers a useful guide to the health and management of captive Mediterranean tortoises, although further data are required on those kept in different circumstances, such as outdoor-only enclosures in northern Europe.

Keywords: captivity, condition index, management, Testudo, tortoise

pp.123-126 

Authors: Bronwen Presswelli , David J . Gower, Oomen V. Oomen, G. John Measey And Mark Wilkinson

pp.127-129

Authors: L. Luiselli , C. Effah, F. M. Angelici, E. Od Egbune, M. A. Inyang , G. C. Akani And E. Politano

pp.131-134

Authors: Nora R. Ibargüengoytía And Víctor E. Cussac