Abstract
After a provisional review of the knowledge on Lacerto horvathi in Italy, the authors present new data on its distribution, spacing strategy and territoriality. The species is quite common in various mountainous habitats of north-eastern Italy, both in Friuli- Venezia Giulia (Udine Province, more than 55 localities; Pordenone Province, 1 locality) and Veneto (Belluno Province, 1 locality). In these areas, it lives from 250 (Pradolino Gorge, Pulfero, Udine) to 2000 metres a.s.l.. (M.te Ponza, Tarvisio, Udine). The preliminary comparison between the homing patterns of syntopic L. horvathi and Podarcis muralis suggests that this last-mentioned species is characterised by wider home ranges — 3–9 times bigger than those of L. horvathi — showing a very high inter-specific aggressiveness. However, in deeper gorges, in cool valleys with Dinaric orientation, as well as on top of mountains, L. horvathi tends to vicariate P. muralis for various differences in both spacing, thermal, and reproductive strategies. In north-eastern Italy, such vicariance on average gradually occurs between 700 and 900 meters above sea level.
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