Abstract
Three rock lizard species (genus Darevskia) occur in the same mountain gorge of the Greater Caucasus mountains located in Northern Georgia. Whereas Darevskia caucasica and Darevskia derjugini belong to the same phylogenetic clade known as “caucasica”, Darevskia rudis is associated to the “rudis” clade. The mountain lizards differed interspecifically in their scalation and ventral colouration patterns, but the body proportions of D. caucasica and D. rudis were more similar to each other than to D. derjugini as both had flatter heads and longer limbs than D. derjugini. Females of all three species had longer trunks and shorter limbs than males. We hypothesized that hybrids occur more likely between D. derjugini and D. caucasica rather than between species belonging to different clades. However our analysis of microsatellite genotyping clearly revealed no traces of hybridisation and/or gene flow among any of the coexisting lizard species. The absence of individuals with intermediate morphological and genetic features reflects the presence of strong reproductive barriers at the prezygotic level.
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