| Lacerta generalensis GULIA, 1914 Lacerta filfolensis generalensis MERTENS & MÜLLER, 1940 Podarcis filfolensis generalensis BISCHOFF, 1986 Podarcis filfolensis SALVI et al., 2014 |
Gulia, G. (1914) - Uno sguardo alla zoologia delle Isole Maltesi. - IX Congres Intern. de Zoologie tenu à Monaco da 25-30 Mars 1913: 545-555. × Giovanni Gulia was a prominent Maltese naturalist. According to Schembri (2003) `In 1913, Giovanni Gulia, one of the foremost Maltese naturalists of that period, attended the Ninth International Zoological Congress held in Monaco and read a paper titled `Uno sguardo alla zoologia delle Isole Maltesi` (Gulia, 1914). This was a review of zoological research on the islands carried out to that date, treating both the marine and the non-marine fauna, and it summarised much of the earlier literature as well as gave additional unpublished information.` Schembri, P.J. (2003) Current state of knowledge of the Maltese non-marine fauna. In: Malta Environment and Planning Authority Annual report and accounts 2003. pp. 33-65; Floriana, Malta: Malta Environment and Planning Authority, 92 pp. Despott, G. (1915) - The reptiles of the Maltese Islands. - The Zoologist, 891: 321-360. Mertens, R. & Müller, L. (1940) - Die Amphibien und Reptilien Europas. (Zweite Liste, nach dem Stand vom 1. Januar 1940) - Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 451: 1-56. Mertens, R. (1968) - Reptielen van de Malta-eilanden. - Lacerta, 27 (2): 11-15. × Die letzte zusammenfassende Obersicht der Malta- Reptilien durch Lanfranco (1955) ist durch Chelonia mydas und Lepidochelys (wahrscheinlich kempii) zu ergiinzen. lm Gegensatz zu seiner und der Auffassung der iilteren Autoren sind die Mauereidechsen Maltas sicherlich keine Rassen von Lacerta 11111ralis, sondern bilden einen eigenen Rassenkreis, der von der sizilianischen Lacerta 1/Nigleriana abzuleiten ist. Da die Originalbe- schreibung von L Bischoff, W. (1986) - Podarcis filfolensis (Bedriaga, 1876) - Malta-Eidechse. - In: Böhme, W. (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Band 2/II Echsen III (Podarcis). 50-64. Salvi, D. & Schembri, P. & Sciberras, A. & Harris, D.J. (2014) - Evolutionary history of the Maltese wall lizard Podarcis filfolensis: insights on the ‘Expansion-Contraction’ model of Pleistocene biogeography. - Molecular Ecology, 23 (5): 1167-1187. × The Expansion-Contraction (EC) model predicts demographic and range contraction of temperate species during Pleistocene glaciations as a consequence of climate-related habitat changes, and provides a paradigm for explaining the high intraspecific diversity found in refugia in terms of long-term demographic stability. However, recent evidence has revealed a weak predictive power of this model for terrestrial species in insular and coastal settings. We investigated the Pleistocene EC dynamics and their evolutionary consequences on temperate species using the Maltese archipelago and its endemic lizard Podarcis filfolensis as a model system. The evolutionary and demographic history of P. filfolensis as inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences data does not conform to the EC model predictions, supporting (i) demographic and spatial stability or expansion, rather than contraction, of the northern and southern lineages during the last glacial period, and (ii) a major role for allopatric differentiation primed by sea-level dynamics, rather than prolonged demographic stability, in the formation of the observed genetic diversity. When combined with evidence from other Mediterranean refugia, this study shows how the incorporation of Pleistocene sea-level variations in the EC model accounts for a reverse demographic and range response of insular and coastal temperate biotas relative to continental ones. Furthermore, this cross-archipelago pattern in which allopatric diversity is formed and shaped by EC cycles resembles that seen between isolated populations within mainland refugia and suggests that the EC model, originally developed to explain population fluctuations into and out-of refugia, may be appropriate for describing the demographic and evolutionary dynamics driving the high genetic diversity observed in these areas. Sciberras, J. & Sciberras, A. (2014) - Behavior of lizards in the Maltese and Pelagian islands: a personal experience. - L@CERTIDAE, 2014 [1]: 1-10. × Different behavior in populations of Podarcis filflolensis on the Maltese and Pelagian islands are
described and discussed. Sciberras, A. & Sciberras, J. (2024) - Updates on the natural history of Cheirolophus Rock (Maltese Archipelago) with a description of its lacertid. - L@CERTIDAE (Eidechsen Online), 2024 [2]: 9-16. × The islet’s recent discovery by the authors hold quite a rich biota compared to its size. In this work topography is re- described adding one species of flora to the already known six (SCIBERRAS & SCIBERRAS 2010, SCIBERRAS et al. 2012) and 32 new species of fauna to the two recorded (LO CASCIO & SCIBERRAS 2020, AGUIS & SCIBERRAS 2022) with a complete description of the endemic lacertid, Podarcis filfolensis, in situ.
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