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New informations concerning systematical questions within the family Lacertidae, which were published during the last year, are presented.

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Cette note est destinée à faire le point sur le peuplement herpétologique du Maroc. Elle comprend: — Une liste des formes effectivement présentes au Maroc, avec les affinités biogéographiques des espèces, et éventuellement les travaux récents où ces formes sont étudiées. — Des commentaires sur les espèces africaines douteuses en Europe et européennes douteuses en Afrique. — Une liste des espèces à rechercher au Maroc. — Une discussion sommaire sur la systématique de certaines espèces marocaines.

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Oukaiemeden Plateau is a herpetologically rich locality in the High Atlas (Morocco) where four lizard species coexist in strict sympatry: three lacertids (Lacerta perspicillata chabanaudi, L. andreanszkyi and Podarcis vaucheri - formerly P. hispanica vaucheri) and one gekkonid (Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus). The diet composition of this lizard community during the early spring was analysed based on 132 faecal pellets which could be individually assigned to a species and a size and sex class. Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus had the highest prey number and the most specialized prey composition based mainly on small Coleoptera (62.5%) which were consumed in aggregates. All three lacertids displayed higher but similar levels of populational prey diversity. Lacerta p. chabanaudi mainly fed on flying insects, whereas L. andreanszkyi and P. vaucheri had diets based on terrestrial prey. Larger lizards ate larger prey at both inter- and intraspecific levels. Species overlap was medium-high (48-84%). Within species, P. vaucheri showed moderate segregation between males and females (74% overlap) whereas the other species did not (> 94%). Pseudocommunity analyses revealed community structure based on segregation due to prey not consumed (species) and to the restriction of niche breadth (classes). The influences of species interactions on habitat use, restrictions in trophic availability and evolutionary history as determinant factors are discussed.

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It has been suggested that dorsal colour patterns and defence strategies could have coevolved in reptiles, the striped species being more prone to flee compared with the spotted species that rely more on crypsis. Because of the confounding effects of phylogeny and habitat, we compared closely related forms that share the same habitats and predation pressures but display different patterns. The spotted (chabanaudi) and the striped (pellegrini) forms of the Lacerta perspicillata (= Teira perspicillata) Duméril and Bibron, 1839 complex are reproductively isolated in a locality where they live in syntopy. The responses of lizards to a direct attack by a predator, simulated by the approach of a researcher, were investigated. Both forms displayed divergent antipredatory behaviours (escaping and recovering) to optimize survival. Chabanaudi lizards showed longer approach distances and took more time to abandon shelter than pellegrini lizards when the effects of temperature and of distance fled were removed. Reappearance was related with previous flight in chabanaudi but with thermal quality of the refuge in pellegrini. Although both used similar refuges, chabanaudi selected bigger rocks that were less accessible to terrestrial predators but were more prone to bird attacks, whereas pellegrini selected fragmented rocks that faced more terrestrial predation. Our results support the hypothesis of coevolution between pattern and antipredatory behaviour.

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One of Darwin`s most widely known conjectures is that prey are tame on remote islands, where mammalian predators are absent. Many species appear to permit close approach on such islands, but no comparative studies have demonstrated reduced wariness quantified as flight initiation distance (FID; i.e. predator–prey distance when the prey begins to flee) in comparison with mainland relatives. We used the phylogenetic comparative method to assess influence of distance from the mainland and island area on FID of 66 lizard species. Because body size and predator approach speed affect predation risk, we included these as independent variables. Multiple regression showed that FID decreases as distance from mainland increases and is shorter in island than mainland populations. Although FID increased as area increased in some models, collinearity made it difficult to separate effects of area from distance and island occupancy. FID increases as SVL increases and approach speed increases; these effects are statistically independent of effects of distance to mainland and island occupancy. Ordinary least-squares models fit the data better than phylogenetic regressions, indicating little or no phylogenetic signal in residual FID after accounting for the independent variables. Our results demonstrate that island tameness is a real phenomenon in lizards.

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Additional data on the distribution of terrestrial herpetofauna from Morocco are pre- sented, based on fieldwork carried out in March and May 2008. Thirty-eight species were recorded from 78 localities. Some of these represent considerable range extensions for the species, indicating that more prospection is needed to complement the existing knowledge of herpetofauna from this country.

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Lacerta (Teira) perspicillata (Duméril and Bibron, 1839) is a small montane rockdwelling lizard, occurring in the western Maghreb (Morocco and Northwest Algeria) and in Menorca, where it has probably been introduced anthropogenically (Mayol, 1997). Intraspeci. c morphological variation is considerable. Some authors accept the existence of three subspecies, L. p. perspicillata, L. p. pellegrini and L. p. chabanaudi (Bons, 1968) but others consider them only morphotypes (Mayol, 1997). Although its phylogenetic relationships have been highly debated, mitochondrial sequence data suggest it is sister taxon to the Madeiran lizard Lacerta (Teira) dugesii (Harris et al., 1998; Oliverio et al., 2000). To investigate genetic diversity within L. perspicillata we sequenced part of the 12S rRNA gene from individuals from several populations including all three forms, and compared this to subspeci. c status.

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DNA metabarcoding is a fast and simple alternative to traditional microscopy methods, which have been the main tool for identification of prey in dietary studies of lizards. In this study, we applied a metabarcoding approach based on COI and 16S rRNA amplicons to assess diet partitioning and feeding strategies in three syntopic lizards from Taza, Morocco: Scelarcis perspicillata chabanaudi, Scelarcis perspicillata pellegrini and Podarcis vaucheri. In order to avoid competition, these lizards are expected to consume different prey species because they occupy distinct trophic niches, use different foraging strategies and express different dorsal pigmentation patterns. Given the spotted pattern of S. p. chabanaudi, we hypothesize a sit-and-wait foraging strategy with a less diverse diet and a higher consumption of mobile prey relative to the striped S. p. pellegrini and P. vaucheri which, as potential active foragers, are expected to have a higher diet diversity. Previous diet assessments using microscopy on faecal remains seem to contradict these expectations. Our results show that, as expected, the diet of S. p. chabanaudi is less diverse than the diet of S. p. pellegrini. Regarding P. vaucheri, our dietary data are consistent with the hypothesis that this species behaves as an active forager, owing to its high niche overlap with S. p. pellegrini. Advantages and limitations of molecular barcoding compared with the microscopy approach to the analysis of lizard diets are discussed.

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We examined the diet of Lacerta perspicillata in populations from different localities, thus providing the first quantiative data on the diet of this species. Five continental populations in Morocco located at different altitudes and an introduced insular population were analysed during April. Our results confirm that L. perspicillata is an insectivorous species and those found at medium altitudes with comparable ecological conditions in Morocco have a similar diet. In Taza, however, both sympatric L. perspicillata forms have different diets. The most varied diets were observed at high altitude and in insular populations. Local diet variability is probably more related to different ecological conditions and, consequently, changing trophic availability than to lizard body size or other morphological or behavioural constraints. Further studies, including studies on trophic availability and seasonal variation, could confirm our preliminary results on local differences in the dietary habits of this species and the potential role of insularity.

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Lacerta perspicillata is a north-west African lacertid lizard that shows considerable intraspecific variation, with three subspecies described on the basis of colour pattern and body size. Recent observations of a population containing two morphological forms and more than one deep genetic lineage, as well as an apparent lack of concordance between forms and genetic lineages, suggest that the complexity is greater than previously thought. To analyse and quantify this variation, we studied the variability within this species at two levels: (1) external morphology (multivariate analysis of scalation, body dimensions, and colour pattern) and (2) mtDNA (sequencing and singlestrand confirmation polymorphism analysis). Fifty-two individuals were studied at Taza, northern Morocco. Two morphological groupings (ostensibly representing two previously described subspecies) and two deep mtDNA lineages were detected at this site, with complete correspondence between the two. This, together with an apparent lack of hybrids, would normally support respective full species recognition. However, analysis of 98 individuals from other populations demonstrated that the situation is highly complex with the same genetic lineages having reversed morphotypes in other areas, making such a designation difficult. Across the other studied populations, we found no support for any of the currently recognized subspecies. The lack of congruence between mtDNA lineages and morphometric patterns (in some cases) and the morphological similarity among lizards from different lineages suggest ecophenotypic convergence or multiple introgressive hybridization. The study highlights the tremendous complexity that may exist within a taxon and the inadequacy of older alpha-taxonomy based designations in describing it.

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During a five weeks stay in Morocco in spring 1999 it was possible to find lizards at several different localities, and to document the animals by photography. The circumstances of the findings, and the localities where the findings of the Taxa Tarentola mauritanica, T. mauritanica juliae, Plyodactylus oudrii, Geckonia chazaliae, Saurodactylus mauritanicus, S. brosseti, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, Agama impalearis, Teira perspicillata chabanaudi, Podarcis (hispanica) vaucheri, Psammodromus algirus, Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus, A. maculatus, A. aureus, Chalcides occellatus subtypicus, C. mionecton trifasciatus, Eumeces algeriensis, E. algeriensis meridionalis, Blanus mettetali, Trogonophis wiegmanni took place, are mentioned.

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he upper Reraia valley and Toubkal massif of the High Atlas/Morocco was visited several times in April/May. A survey of the landscape, climate and Vegetation is given. Observations on five of the six species of lacertid lizards occurring are reported. Their habitats and altitudinal distribution in relation to the Vegetation zones are described.