en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_lizard
3 corrections found
While in continental Europe the sand lizard has a wide variety of habitat, in colder places like Great Britain they depend on sand to incubate their eggs and such are restricted to coastal habitats.
This is incorrect because sand lizards in Great Britain are not restricted to coastal habitats. Official UK conservation sources state they occur on inland lowland heathland as well as sand dunes.
Full reasoning
The sentence is wrong in its last clause: British sand lizards are not confined to coastal habitats.
Authoritative UK conservation sources describe two main British habitat types for sand lizards:
- Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) says the species occurs naturally on protected heathland sites in Surrey, Dorset, Hampshire and on the Merseyside dune systems, and adds that sand lizards are dependent on "heathland or sand dune habitats." Surrey, Dorset, and Hampshire populations include well-known inland heathland sites, so the species is not restricted to the coast.
- Natural England's species note says sand lizards are found almost exclusively on "lowland heathland or frontal sand dunes." Again, that explicitly includes inland heathland, not just coastal habitat.
So although British sand lizards do need suitable sandy egg-laying conditions, it is inaccurate to say they are therefore "restricted to coastal habitats."
2 sources
- Sand lizard | Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Due to vast habitat loss the species now only occurs naturally on protected heathland sites in Surrey, Dorset, Hampshire and the protected Merseyside dune systems... The sand lizard is dependent on well managed heathland or sand dune habitats.
- Sand lizard: European protected species (Natural England Species Information Note)
Sand lizards are found almost exclusively on lowland heathland or frontal sand dunes.
Vitellogenesis happens when females are 45 days for the whole population.
This sentence is garbled and biologically incorrect. The source says female vitellogenesis is rapid and lasts about 45 days across the population; it does not say females are '45 days' old.
Full reasoning
This statement appears to be a mistranscription of the source.
A primary study on the reproductive cycle of Lacerta agilis states: "Vitellogenesis in females is rapid (45 days for the whole population)". In other words, the study is describing the duration of vitellogenesis across the population, not the age of females.
The Wikipedia sentence changes that into "Vitellogenesis happens when females are 45 days for the whole population," which is not what the source says and is biologically nonsensical as written. The correct idea is that female vitellogenesis is rapid and lasts roughly 45 days across the population.
1 source
- Reproductive cycle of the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) in its southwestern range
Vitellogenesis in females is rapid (45 days for the whole population) with a long period of oviductal retention.
The sand lizard is distributed across most of Europe from the southern coast of Britain and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia.
This understates the species' eastern range. Authoritative references place sand lizards beyond Lake Baikal, extending into Mongolia and northwestern China.
Full reasoning
This sentence gives Lake Baikal in Russia as the eastern end of the sand lizard's range, but authoritative range references place the species farther east.
- The IUCN Red List says Lacerta agilis ranges east through the Caucasus and Central Asia to northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia.
- A major Eurasian reptile reference likewise states that the species extends to north-western Mongolia and western China.
So the article's statement is too restrictive: the species' distribution does not stop at Lake Baikal.
2 sources
- IUCN Red List: Lacerta agilis (Sand Lizard)
This species is widely distributed in much of western, central and eastern Europe... and ranges east though the Caucasus Mountains and Central Asia to the northwest of China (Tien-Shan and the eastern part of Xinjiang) and southwest Mongolia.
- Reptiles of Northern Eurasia: Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status
Sand lizard is one of the most widely distributed Eurasian species; its distribution range covers... Eastern Siberia, north-western Mongolia and western China in the east.