The particularities of a remote islet shape the thermoregulatory profile of an endemic Mediterranean lizard

摘要: Environmental temperatures considerably affect the reptilian ability for thermoregulation and harsh climatic conditions may impose a highly effective body temperature regulation to lizards. Such demanding are more common extreme mainland habitats (e.g. deserts or mountains). To contrary, islands have benign climate thanks thermal buffering effect of surrounding sea. However, this favorable be eliminated in small size islets where scarcity shelters exposure high winds create challenging conditions. Here we investigate impact tough islet habitat on Podarcis levendis, lacertid lizard endemic two rocky north Cretan Sea, Greece. evaluate thermoregulatory effectiveness P. levendis measured operative field preferred lab. Analyses data revealed an accurate, precise, thermoregulator, achieving very values (E =0.91, de¯-db¯ =7.6). This comes compensate living inhospitable as denote (de =7.79). Our findings, together with limited published literature, suggested lack general pattern all insular lizards indicated possible deviation habitats.