Oviductal egg development in the curly tailed lizard Leiocephalus carinatus aquarius.

Revista Cubana de Ciencias Biológicas 5 (2): 1-4.

Introduction:

Leiocephalus carinatus (saw-scaled curly-tailed lizard) has thirteen currently recognized subspecies that occur throughout Cuban Archipelago, Cayman Islands, Swan Islands, Bahama Islands and introduced in Florida. It’s a diurnal species that inhabits xerophilic vegetation, mogote complex, coastal and subcoastal microphyllous forest, semidesert thorny crubwoodland, associated with urban habitats (nearby to the coastal zones and rocky ground in the beach) and abandoned walls and concrete blocks.
Reproduction periods for L. carinatus are continuous and increasing in some months. Sexual maturity in males reach between 78.6-81.2 mm SVL and females 70.2-73.0 mm SVL. Eggs dimensions and deposition were previously reported for some subspecies, and only for two subspecies (L. c. armouri, L. c. carinatus) has been reported data related with ovarian follicles and oviductal eggs to determine the ovarian cycle and clutch characteristics. Here we report a synchronized development of oviductal eggs in the curly-tailed lizard Leiocephalus carinatus aquarius.

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