The Herpetological Journal
The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.
ISSN 0268-0130
2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.
pdf 03. The 'survey' posture in wall lizards, Podarcis muralis
901 downloads
Open Access
pp.132-135
Authors: Roger Avery
Abstract: Male, female and juvenile wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) observed living on a high, southfacing brick wall in April and August were sometimes ( 4% of total observation time in adult males) seen immobile, facing downwards in an orientation equivalent to the 'survey' posture of Anolis and other lguanidae. Some aspects of the temporal dynamics of the behaviour were investigated. It was most commonly seen in adult males during August, when there were significant trends for the frequency of the posture to increase towards the base of the wall and for the mean time spent immobile in the posture to be greater than the mean times immobile at other orientations. The 'survey' posture at the middle and higher levels of the wall appeared to be associated with topographical features such as small tufts of vegetation or bricks which stood proud from the remainder. This association could not be tested directly, but fixing a small strip of wood to the wall increased the duration of locomotor pauses and the frequency of 'survey' postures of lizards when they were immediately above it.
Download Access:
The latest 8 issues can be downloaded when logged in with a Herpetological Journal subscription membership.
Individual articles can be purchased for download.
Older issues and occasional Open Access articles are available for public download
Submissions:
For further information and submission guidelines please see our Journal Instructions to Authors
Latest Issue
IMPORTANT NOTE - JUNE 2020
Please note that as from Volume 31 Number 1 (January 2021) on, the Herpetological Journal will be available as an online publication only - the last print edition will be Volume 30 Number 4.
Aligning with this change, it is now no longer possible to purchase a subscription that includes a print copy of the HJ. All members who have existing HJ print subscriptions that remain active as at end June 2020 will receive the full four 2020 print editions. New subscribers or renewals after this time will only have option to subscribe to the online only subscription package. Subscription pricing has been amended to reflect the content changes.