Акантодактиль эритрурус: описание и особенности вида.

Species of lizard
speciesbox
| image = Acanthodactylus erythrurus. jpg
| status = LC
| status system = IUCN3.1
| status ref =
| genus = Acanthodactylus
| species = erythrurus
| authority = (Schinz, 1833)
| synonyms =
Lacerta erythrura
Acanthodactylus vulgaris
Acanthodactylus lineo maculatus
Acanthodactylus belli
Acanthodactylus erythrurus
| synonyms ref = It is considered to be the fastest member of the family Lacertidae. The spiny footed lizard is 20 cm long, so it can be categorized as a medium sized animal. It has a tail that is two thirds of the lizard’s total size, and it has a very strong body. The snout is quite short and the supra occipital plates are defined enough to portray the illusion of the eyebrows being located on the lizard’s head. The entire body is covered with thin, seed like scales. The scales have a keeled structure and the midline protrudes outwards. The lizard has long nails on its strong hind legs and long white lines on a greyish yellow skin tone. There are also irregular dark and yellow spots all over the legs. The anterior belly is a shade of white and the long tail is a brilliant red on the lateral portions. During the mating period, the males’ yellow ocelli and the females’ red tails become more intensely colored. In 1982, Salvador found that the subspecies atlanticus should have acted as an intermediate between the two subspecies in Morocco, belli and lineomaculatus. Additionally, there has not been any long periods of isolation in lineomaculatus when individuals with characteristics between lineomaculatus and atlanticus in the Marrakech region were examined. In Morocco, the lizard is widely distributed, but it is less frequent in the extremely arid areas and the Sahara. However, adult and subadult males differed in the composition of these lipophilic secretions. In younger lizards, C9 and C15 carboxylic acids were more abundant, but in older lizards, C16 and C20 carboxylic acids were more abundant. Additionally, older lizards had significantly lower proportions of cholesterol and campesterol but higher amounts of dehydrocholesterol. The presence of these different compounds can be a sign of variation in how these chemicals are used to communicate. Because A. erythrurus are found in arid areas with higher temperatures, there should be a lot of carbon atoms in the carboxylic acids; however, the older lizards have a lot of carbons in their carboxylic acids. Older males should increase the amount of low volatile chemicals in their secretions.

The spiny footed lizard, like other members of the genus Acanthodactylus, may defend itself aggressively and bite tenaciously, if one tries to catch it. Individuals are continuously involved in skirmishes with other members of the species and the males strenuously defend the borders of their territories. In order to conduct the study, the lizards were recorded in captivity and encounters between male and female adults with the natural red coloration or red/white painted onto these natural areas were observed. In order to test the aggression, the researchers recorded how many times the juveniles were attacked or bitten. The juveniles that were unpainted had no significant relationship between coloration and aggression. Juveniles that were experimentally painted red were bitten less than their white painted counterparts. According to these results, the aggression avoidance hypothesis can be supported because the progression from attacking to biting was lower for red juvenile lizards. A distinct red color in the juveniles significantly reduced adult aggression; however, the smaller natural color variations did not have much of an effect on aggression.

A. erythrurus is oviparous. Through spectrophotometric quantification, the red color was analyzed and it seemed that right after reproduction, the red color increased but during the breeding season, the red faded into white in all three experimental groups. Both the fertile and infertile females laid eggs, but only the fertilized females laid fertile eggs, whereas the unfertilized females laid infertile eggs. The females that actively interacted with males were darker towards the end of the breeding season compared to the females who were not actively interacting with the males. This indicates that fertilization and physical contact can impact the red coloration of adult females’ hind legs and tails. The red color could have a mating related function, but the white coloration could indicate gravidity, pregnancy, in the species. The males were offered female pairs, adult/subadult, that had different sizes and different tail colorations, red or white. The males used their chemical and visual cues to make mate choices, and if they were able to choose a lizard based on red coloration, they preferred females with a red coloration. Additionally, regardless of color, they can use chemical cues to choose the adult in the pair. According to this particular study, the red color could indicate sexual maturity or a pre ovulatory reproductive status. The concluding hypothesis stands that “males would benefit from an increased probability of fertilizing the females and siring their offspring. Females might also benefit from exhibiting the red coloration leading to male mate choice because it might favor mating with higher quality males or reproducing earlier."

The Spiny Footed lizard appears to be a species under special protection, especially in considering its coastal populations. Its habitat is heavily affected by coastal urbanization as well as maritime promenades being constructed a lot more than in the past. Its habitat is also at risk of deteriorating due to global warming and climate change threats. These threats are especially worrisome for the Spiny Footed Lizard as it is a species that thrives on its environment and really relies on/ utilizes it to live.