Abstract
The present study aims to determine, by histological examination, the female reproductive cycle of specimens of Kulzer’s rock lizards collected in a mountainous region in Lebanon. Females of Phoenicolacerta kulzeri followed a seasonal reproductive pattern. Winter hibernation period lasted for 5 months. Females of P. Kulzeri exhibited a reproductive activity during spring characterized by the presence of vitellogenic follicles in the ovaries and eggs in the oviducts. Oviposition occurred throughout the springtime. Up to two clutches were produced with an average clutch size of 2.9 eggs. Clutch size was significantly correlated to female body size. The attainment of sexual maturity was at a minimum size of 46 mm snout-vent length. The mean body size of adult females was 55.0 mm and did not differ significantly from that of adult males. Females showed a period of sexual rest in summer and none of them showed a reproductive activity in autumn. The female reproductive activity of P. kulzeri was well-synchronized with that of the males in spring; however, an autumnal asynchrony was observed between the female and male reproductive cycles, since males continued to exhibit a spermatogenetic activity.
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