Geometric Morphometrics Reveal Shape Differences in the Toes of Urban Lizards.

ABSTRACT: Urbanization, despite its destructive effects on natural habitats, offers species an opportunity to colonize novel niches. Previous research found that urban Anolis lizards in Puerto Rico had increased adhesive toepad area and more ventral toepad scales, traits that are likely adaptive and genetically based. We further investigated these phenotypic changes using geometric morphometrics to measure differences in toe shape, toepad shape, and lamellar morphology. Our results indicate that the increased toepad area of urban Anolis cristatellus lizards in Puerto Rico is not simply an isometric increase in toe size. Toes of urban populations exhibit multiple disproportional changes compared to forest lizards, with a larger proportion of the toe length covered in adhesive toepad. In

SUBMITTER: Howell BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9391197 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature