Further evidence of the existence of oviparous populations of Lacerta (Zootoca) vivipara in the NW of the Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

The lizard Lacerta ( Zootoca) vivipara, which is viviparous in the greatest part of its distribution range, has however some oviparous populations on the southern margin of its range. The present study aimed at determining the reproductive mode and the ATA (aspartate transaminase) enzyme characteristics of four populations in Slovenia and one population in Croatia. The Slovenian females studied here presented an oviparous reproductive mode which strongly resembled those observed in the oviparous populations of south-western France and north-western Spain. Our electrophoresis analyses revealed the existence of two distinct alleles, ATA –150 and ATA –200 , in the oviparous populations of Slovenia. These alleles were identical to those observed in the French and Spanish oviparous group and were distinct from the allele ATA –100 characterizing the viviparous populations that we had previously studied. Although we did not study the reproductive mode of Croatian females, the allele ATA –200 observed in one population of Croatia strongly suggested that this population might also be oviparous.