NICHE, MORPHOLOGY AND LOCOMOTION IN LACERTID LIZARD 
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Fig. 2 Estimate of phylogeny for the Armatured clade of the Lacertidae. Adolfus, Holaspis and Gastropholis constitute the Equatorial African group. 
sometimes broken situations with stones and sparse vegetation 
(Lantz & Cyren, 1939; S. C. Anderson, in press). 
Northwestern archaeolacertas (NW Balkan area, S Austria, Pyr- 
enees and Iberian Peninsula). 
L. horvathi, L. mosorensis and L. monticola are rock dwelling in 
montane situations (Arnold, 1987) and the same is apparently true of 
L. bonnali, L. aurelioli and L. aranica. 
Algyroides (S Europe) 
This small genus appears to be primarily associated with woodland 
and woodland-edge habitats. In environments which have not been 
radically disturbed, Algyroides are frequently encountered among 
forest detritus such as fallen trunks, branches brushwood and litter. 
All four species may climb to some extent both in twiggy situations 
and on more continuous surfaces, including boles, branches and 
_ rocks. Such climbing is much more marked in A. nigropunctatus and 
A. marchi than in A. fitzingeri and A. moreoticus (Sources summa- 
rised by Arnold, 1987) 
| Southern ‘archaeolacertas’(N and E Mediterranean area, east to N 
Iraq. 
All species climb substantially although to varying extents. Climb- 
_ Ing usually takes place on rocky surfaces (Arnold, 1973, 1987) but L. 
laevis sometimes also occurs on tree boles (Zinner, 1967). The most 
scansorial species is L. oxycephala. (Sources: Bohme, 1984; Arnold, 
1987) 

Lacerta parva and L. fraasii (Lebanon, E. Turkey, NW Iran, 
Transcaucasus) 
Both species are basically ground-dwelling occurring in dry, open 
though sometimes broken situations with stones and sparse vegeta- 
tion. (Wettstein, 1928; Peters, 1962; S. C. Anderson, in press; In den 
Bosch, 1994) 
Members of the Armatured clade 
Omanosaura (E Arabia) 
Both O. cyanura and O. jayakari climb on rocky surfaces, but the 
latter species also spends time on open ground and occasionally even 
climbs in low trees (Arnold & Gallagher, 1977; pers. obs.). 
Australolacerta (South Africa) 
Both A. australis and A. rupicola occur on rocky surfaces and climb 
to a considerable extent (FitzSimons, 1943; De Villiers, Branch & 
Baard, 1983; Branch, 1988). 
Adolfus (Forest regions of east and central Africa) 
A. jacksoni, A. africanus and A. vauereselli are all essentially 
woodland species that often climb on fallen timber and sometimes 
standing trees as well. They also forage on the ground and A. 
africanus at least may climb twiggy and herbaceous plants (pers. 
obs.). A. alleni is a high altitude species occurring above the tree line 
in moorland situations where it lives on the ground, taking refuge in 
