PRZEMYSŁAW ZDUNEK

🦎 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥!

🏙️ Urban environments are rapidly expanding across the globe, creating novel ecological conditions that challenge wildlife in unexpected ways.

🦎 A new study on the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) reveals that city-dwelling individuals are surprisingly more social than their counterparts living in natural habitats.

🧐 Using social network analyses, researchers compared urban and non-urban populations and found that urban lizards formed more social connections, maintained stronger associations, and interacted with a greater number of individuals overall. These differences were not explained by population density alone.

🔍 The authors suggest that urban structures, restricted movement opportunities, and patchily distributed resources may increase encounters among lizards and promote greater social tolerance. Such behavioural shifts could help explain why some reptile species thrive in cities despite the challenges of urban life.

🌍 These findings challenge the traditional view of territorial lizards as largely solitary animals and highlight how urbanization can reshape animal behaviour in unexpected ways. Understanding these adaptations is essential as cities continue to expand worldwide.

👉 Reference:
Maune, A.L., Wittenbreder, T., Lisičić, D., Caspers, B.A., Camerlenghi, E. & Damas-Moreira, I. (2025). City lizards are more social. Biology Letters, 21(9). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0326

#Herpetology #Lizards #PodarcisMuralis #UrbanEcology #UrbanWildlife #Reptiles #AnimalBehaviour #SocialBehaviour #Ecology #Biodiversity #Science #Research ... See MoreSee Less

🐢 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫?

🧐 Turtles are famous for their exceptional longevity, with some species living well over a century. They also exhibit an extraordinary range of body sizes, from small freshwater species to giant tortoises weighing hundreds of kilograms.

🐢 According to evolutionary theory, large and long-lived animals should face an increased risk of cancer due to their greater number of cells and longer lifespans. Surprisingly, turtles appear to be remarkably resistant to the disease.

🔬 A new review synthesizing data from zoo records, pathology reports, and comparative oncology studies confirms that cancer is exceptionally rare in turtles compared with many other vertebrate groups.

🔍 Emerging molecular evidence suggests that turtles possess enhanced resistance to oxidative stress and cellular damage, mechanisms that may help suppress tumor development while also contributing to their extraordinary longevity.

🌍 Understanding how turtles naturally resist cancer could provide valuable insights not only for reptile biology and conservation but also for biomedical research aimed at uncovering new mechanisms of tumor suppression and healthy aging.

👉 Reference:
Glaberman, S., Bulls, S.E., Platner, L., Wagner, P., Dreyer, S., McCain, S., Burgstaller, S., Davis, L.R., Turner, H., Bruins-van Sonsbeek, L.G.R., Fischer, D. & Chiari, Y. (2025). Do turtles get cancer? BioScience, 75(9): 699–705. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf100.

#Herpetology #Turtles #Tortoises #CancerResearch #ComparativeOncology #Longevity #Aging #Chelonians #Reptiles #Wildlife #Biodiversity #Science ... See MoreSee Less

🦎 𝐋𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

🌡️ Can behavioural thermoregulation protect lizards from the effects of climate change?

🦎 Researchers revisited a population of the Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus) inhabiting a well-preserved Mediterranean forest in central Spain, comparing data collected in 1997 and 2017 using the same methods and study sites.

🧐 Over two decades, summer air temperatures increased significantly, while lizard body temperatures rose even more dramatically. Despite intensifying their use of shaded microhabitats, the lizards were no longer able to maintain body temperatures within their preferred thermal range during the hottest periods of the day.

🔍 In 2017, nearly all available microhabitats exceeded the species' preferred temperatures after midday. As a result, thermoregulation became less effective, and lizards frequently experienced body temperatures above their optimal range despite actively seeking shade.

🌍 These findings provide rare long-term empirical evidence that behavioural thermoregulation may not fully buffer ectotherms against ongoing global warming, even in relatively undisturbed habitats offering a fine-scale mosaic of sun and shade.

📍 The study highlights a growing concern for reptile populations worldwide: as temperatures continue to rise, suitable thermal refuges may become increasingly scarce, limiting the ability of lizards to cope with climate change.

👉 Reference:
Díaz, J.A., Izquierdo-Santiago, R. & Llanos-Garrido, A. (2022). Lizard thermoregulation revisited after two decades of global warming. Functional Ecology, 36, 3022–3035. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14192

#Herpetology #Lizards #PsammodromusAlgirus #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Thermoregulation #Reptiles #Ecology #Biodiversity #Conservation #FunctionalEcology #WildlifeResearch ... See MoreSee Less

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞

The Nile Monitor, Varanus niloticus, is a large, ecologically adaptable lizard widespread across African river ecosystems. While these ectothermic reptiles typically rely on natural substrates like riverside trees and banks for behavioral temperature regulation, rapid habitat modification and the seasonal dynamics of savanna ecosystems can drive highly unusual behavioral adaptations.

Authors have documented an unprecedented case of opportunistic thermoregulation, where an adult Nile Monitor utilized the carcass of a drowned Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) as a basking platform. This represents the first published evidence of such basking behavior in Varanids within Kenya.

This note highlights the remarkable behavioral plasticity of monitor lizards in changing environments. Due to local riverine deforestation and high water levels that stripped away traditional arboreal basking sites, the lizard adapted by exploiting megafauna remains. Large mammal carcasses not only offer elevated exposure to solar radiation but also function as effective thermal sinks, generating and retaining heat through solar absorption and internal decomposition fermentation, allowing the reptile to optimize its body temperature through a combination of solar basking and thigmothermy.

In a note published in Herpetology Notes (2026), authors presented a field observation of this unexpected interspecific interaction along the Mara River, expanding our understanding of reptile behavioral ecology and habitat use in disturbed savanna landscapes.

References:
Heijnen, T. and Zdunek, P. 2026. Dead Blue Wildebeest legacy: an unexpected opportunistic thermoregulation support for Nile Monitor, Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766), in Kenya. Herpetology Notes 19: 319-321.

#herpetology #varanusniloticus #nilemonitor #thermoregulation #behavioralplasticity #masaimara #fieldbiology #reptileresearch #Ecophysiology #varanidae ... See MoreSee Less

Gallotia galloti eisentrauti, male, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain

An endemic subspecies living in the north of Tenerife. ... See MoreSee Less

𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

👀Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris

🐍Are you interested in vertebrate evolution, functional morphology, or herpetology? A PhD position is currently available at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, focusing on the evolutionary dynamics of head shape in squamates (lizards and snakes).

This project offers a unique opportunity to work within one of the world’s premier natural history institutions, leveraging its extensive osteological collections and state-of-the-art imaging facilities.

Collaboration with experts in this field: @Marion Segall @Emmanuelle Pouydebat

link in the comment ... See MoreSee Less