elements of herpetofauna by means of a dry-land New in principle for reptiles and higher 



bridge, which at one time united the Apsheronskiy vertebrates in general was the discovery of nor- 



and Krasnovodsk i y Peninsulas. The problem of mal parthenogenic reproduction, and related to it 



the influence of the glacial period on geogra- polyploids in some Caucasian rock lizards of the 



phic variability was examined by Terent'yev polymorphic species - Lacerta saxicola. Many pro- 



(19*8;. The 19*9 book by Terent'yev and Chernov blems, such as the dynamics of numbers, seasonal 



presents a zoogeograph ic outline of all of our and daily migrations, "homing instinct", individual 



native herpetofauna. dwelling areas, alarm procedure, growth, age and 



some other aspects of amphibians and reptiles are 



A significant place among the works of the still not being studied sufficiently. A continua- 



Soviet herpetolog ists is occupied by the study tion is necessary of the work begun by A, A. 



of the biology of amphibians and reptiles, dui — Sergeyev on body temperature and thermoregulation 

 ing which much work was done relating to their in reptiles, 

 nutrition. Following the well-known research 



of N. V. Krasavets (l9 4 5-5l)> dozens of articles The study of the dynamics of the development 



have been written on the subject, analyzing the and morphology of amphibians was introduced in 



qualitative and quantitative side of the eating our country primarily in the work of I. I. 



habits of many species. In particular, it was Schmalgauzen and his school, in significant part 



shown that there was no really significant selec- collected in his monograph "The Genesis of 



tive capability in the feeding habits of the Terrestrial Vertebrates" (1964). The study of the 



majority of the lizards studied, i.e., the quali- phylogeny of present-day lizards on the basis of 



tative composition of their food depended in an analysis of the musculature of the extremities 



the first place on the makeup of the entomofauna is being successfully carried forward by V. 8. 



in the biocoenosis, changing relative to the Sukhanov at the Paleontolog ical Institute of the 



season of the year. Secondly, the nature of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which has made 



food intake of many species of lizard show a some interesting additions to the classical 



gradual adjustment of eating habits to the con- scheme of Kemp. He has done original research 



sumption of particular types of output during on the locomotion of lizards and has clarified 



the periods when the latter are most plentiful. the role of the latter in the formation of the 



In addition, the positive role of the lizard as system of movement of terrestrial vertebrates in 



a destroyer of harmful insects was also clari- general. To the functional morphology of rep- 



fied. It should be stated here, however, that tiles is dedicated several works of I. S. 



the broad conclusions drawn by some authors as Darevskiy, who first reported, in particular, on 



to the "helpful" or "harmful" roles of one or the skin glands of lizards and explained some of 



another reptile in the majority of cases are very the principles of the evolution of the concrescence 



artificial, inasmuch as their evaluations are of the eyelid in the Lacertae and Scincidae. 

 based only on an analysis of the contents of 



the stomach, completely ignoring either the The biomechanics of reptilian armor has been 



biomass and the number of living things abroad studied by L. I. Khozatskiy ( 1948-1 964 ) . 

 serving as food for the reptile, or the strength 



and level of the energy metabolism of the preda- Numerous works on the fossil types of am- 



tor itself. Some conclusions are expected from phibians and reptiles discovered on the territory 



a parallel study of the availability of a spe- of the USSR are collected in a volume devoted to 



cific food supply for the predator and his hunt- them, i.e., "The Fundamentals of Paleontology 



ing area. (1964)". 



Data were received from a fishing industry The bases for the study of poisonous animals 



study of frogs and water snakes, and what was of and their poisons were already established in our 



special interest was the fact that there is a country in the first years of the Soviet era by 



lack of food competition between the young of Ye. N. ' Pavlosk i y. This lead has been carried 



amphibians and young fish. forward with success (Bogdanov, I965). Work on 



the study of poisonous snakes, the biochemistry 



in recent years for many species of amphibian anc j toxicology of their poisons has been effective- 



and reptile the time of gonadal development, the \ y conducted primarily in the Institute of 



duration of the incubation period, the number of Zoology and Parasitology of the Academy of 



eggs in the clutch or the number of young in the Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. Here were developed 



litter, the time of the onset of sexual maturity. the optimal conditions for the maintenance of 



etc., have been determined. A portionality (sic) poisonous snakes in nursery conditions, which 



of the clutch of a series of arid and semi-arid noticeably increased the production of snake 



lizards was discovered, and the existence in poisons. Several studies of this institute were 



some of these of a second, autumnal peak in published in the collection "Questions of Herpe- 



gonadal development, accompanied by a renewal of tology and the Toxicology of Snake Poisons (1966)". 



sexual activity in the Fall. During a parallel Our national pharmacological industry has done 



study of the seasonal dynamics of the fatty body we n in the production of the requisite anti- 



and the gonad of the lizard, a connection be- snakebite serums and other medicinal preparations, 



tween the nature of nutrition and reproduction for the production of which the poisons of many 



was established. types of snake of our native fauna were used. 



