Revealing biodiversity allows the accurate determination of the underlying causes of many biological processes such as speciation and hybridization. These processes contain many complex patterns, especially in areas with high species diversity. As two of the prominent zoogeographic areas, Anatolia and Caucasus are also home to the genus Darevskia, which has a complex morphological structure and parthenogenetic speciation. Darevskia valentini and D. rudis are two largely distributed taxa of this genus, both of which have a controversial taxonomic delimitation. Here we performed both a highly detailed morphological comparison and a molecular evaluation for the populations in both species groups. The most comprehensive taxonomic revision of this complex was carried out to determine the cases where the data obtained were compatible or not with each approach. As a result of the obtained outputs, it seems that D. spitzenbergerae stat. nov., D. mirabilis stat. nov. and D. obscura stat. nov. should be accepted as the species level, this later with subspecies D. o. bischoffi comb. nov. and D. o. macromaculata comb. nov.. Also, we propose two new taxa: D. josefschmidtleri sp. nov. and D. spitzenbergerae wernermayeri ssp. nov.. It has also been shown that “lantzicyreni” subspecies belong to D. rudis instead of D. valentini. The extensive revision has contributed to subsequent studies to more accurately understand the past histories of species in the genus Darevskia.

Taxonomy of the lacertid genus Darevskia has been complex since the first morphology-based studies. Darevskia valentini, mostly distributed in Turkey, currently includes three subspecies, but its interspecific and intraspecific taxonomic status has so far been shaped only by morphological evaluations, without molecular phylogenetic assessments. In this study, samples from the entire distribution of this species and its closest relatives were evaluated with molecular phylogenetic analyses of a multi-marker dataset, comprised of maternally-inherited mitochondrial and biparentally-inherited nuclear markers. We discovered two previously unrecognized genetically highly divergent lineages. The distinction of these two lineages is supported by gene trees, haplotype networks, divergence time estimation and species-delimitation analyses. We discuss possible taxonomic resolutions given that the phylogenies do not seem to agree with currently accepted taxonomy. Our results advance the knowledge of the ancestry of parthenogenesis as a result of past hybridization events between parental species pairs, because the paternal origin of some parthenogenetic species lies within the new lineages discovered here.

Despite the abundance and diversity of lizards in the family Scincidae, descriptions of their cranial and postcranial osteologies are almost nonexistent. Here, we provide detailed descriptions of adult skeletal morphologies in three scincid species: Ablepharus kitaibelii, A. chernovi and A. budaki. The skeletal elements of these lizards are described on cleared and double-stained specimens. The general pattern of the cranial and postcranial skeletons in the three scincid species is characterized by the absence of the palatal teeth, presence of thirteen scleral ossicles in each eye, pattern of fore- hindlimb, and shape of the clavicle and interclavicle. Additionally, there are some remarkable variations regarding the number, size and position of the bones. These include the size and shape of the nasal, the degree of fusion or separation of the postfrontal and postorbital and the number of presacral vertebrae and marginal teeth.

Because of their diversity, microplastics (MPs), which are synthetic particles smaller than 5 mm, are highly bioavailable and widely distributed. The prevalence of microplastics in aquatic habitats has been extensively studied but less is known about their presence in terrestrial environments and biota. This study examined MP intake in terrestrial environments utilizing gastrointestinal tracts (GITs), with a particular focus on the Turkish worm lizard (Blanus strauchi). Suspected particles discovered in the GITs were removed, measured, and characterized based on size, shape, color, and polymer type in order to evaluate MP ingestion. Out of 118 samples analyzed, 29 specimens (or 24.57%) had microplastic particlesMP length did not significantly correlate with snout–vent length (SVL) and weight. These correlations were tested to determine whether the size or weight of Blanus strauchi influenced the amount or size of MPs found within the GITs. Also, MP consumption by the worm lizard did not correlate with the year of sampling. All particles identified as fibers through FT-IR spectroscopy analysis. The most common type of microplastic was polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The most often detected color was blue, with mean MP lengths ranging from 133 µm to 2929 µm. It has been demonstrated that worm lizards inhabiting soil or sheltering under stones in bushy areas with sparse vegetation consume MPs. Predation is regarded to be the most likely way through which MPs infiltrate terrestrial food webs.

Agca M, et al. Infect Chemother. 2021 May;53:e25. https://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2021.0026

Thirty-eight individuals of Anatololacerta anatolica (Werner, 1902) (17 males, 20 females, and 1 juvenile) were collected by hand from western Provinces of Türkiye and the following helminth species were found: 1 species of Digenea Plagiorchis elegans (Rudolphi, 1802) Braun, 1902, 1 species of Cestoda Mesocestoides sp. (tetrathyridia), and 4 species of Nematoda Skrjabinodon medinae, Skrjabinelazia hoffmanni Li, 1934, Skrjabinelazia taurica, and Spauligodon aloisei. Anatololacerta anatolica represents a new host record for P. elegans, S. taurica and S. aloisei.