Herpetology Notes, volume 10: 529-531 (2017) (published online on 10 October 2017) New egg laying record for Liolaemus chiliensis (Lesson, 1830) (Iguania: Liolaemidae) Jaime Troncoso-Palacios1,* and Antonieta Labra1,2 Liolaemus chiliensis (Lesson, 1830) is a lizard species plastic mesh. Enclosures contained a sandy substrate, a distributed from central-southern Chile to the southern clay pot to maintain water continuously, a wooden stick of Argentina. The species inhabits bushes and usually used as a perch, and an inverted tile used as shelter and climbs the branches (Donoso-Barros, 1966). It is known basking place (see details in Hoare and Labra, 2013). as the “weeping lizard” because it vocalizes when it In our sample group, we had fifteen females that laid a is seized (Donoso-Barros, 1966; Labra et al., 2013). mean of 14.3 ± 4.5 eggs (SD; range = 5-22, median and This is an oviparous lizard, and according to Donoso- mode = 13) between late October to November (Table Barros (1966), females lay half-dozen eggs under 1). Four females had more eggs than was previously stones between October and November. Thereafter, reported; two females had 19 eggs, one had 20 eggs and Pincheira-Donoso and Núñez (2005) reported that the other had 22 eggs. Although females showed a high females laid between 7 to 11 eggs in November, while variation in the number of laid eggs, we found that their Ibargüengoytía (2008), reported a maximum of 18 eggs, body size correlated significantly with the number of indicating that pregnancy takes place in October and eggs laid (Pearson correlation Coefficient = 0.59; P = the oviposition occurs in November. Altogether, data 0.021, Fig. 1). This positive correlation has been reported suggest that the clutch size of L. chiliensis presents for some Liolaemus lizards (Martori and Aun, 1997; a great variation. Here, we provide a new egg laying Pincheira-Donoso and Tregenza, 2011; Ramírez-Pinilla, record for L. chiliensis, and investigate a potential correlation between female body size and egg clutch size (e.g. Martori and Aun, 1997). As part of an ongoing study with L. chiliensis, we collected lizards in mid-spring and early summer (October–December) of 2009 and 2012, in central Chile. They were transported to the laboratory where we measured their body sizes (snout–vent length, SVL) with a Vernier calliper (± 0.02 mm) and determined their sex by direct observation of the tail base (Mella, 2005). During their permanence in the laboratory, the lizards were maintained individually in plastic enclosures (44.5 x 32 x 25 cm), which had two windows covered by 1 Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Casilla 70005, Correo 7, Santiago, Chile. 2 Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES). Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, PB 1066, 0316 Oslo, Norway Figure 1. Relationship between the female body size and the * Corresponding author e-mail: �troncosopalacios�gmail.com number of eggs laid in Liolaemus chiliensis. 530 Jaime Troncoso-Palacios & Antonieta Labra Table 1. Data1 onTable oviposition 1. Data on of oviposition Liolaemus of chiliensis Liolaemus. All chiliensis lizards. wereAll lizards collected were incollected October. in October.NA= Information not available. 2 NA= Information not available. N° of pregnant �ear of capture Locality Oviposture Date of Oviposture females Mean ± SD (range) 4 2009 El Manzano (33º42`S – 71º12`O) 12.3 ± 5.7 (5-19) 28/10/2009 - 03/11/2009 6 2010 Melipilla (33º35`S – 70º24`O) 15.7 ± 3.4 (11-20) NA 5 2012 Melipilla 14.4 ± 4.8 (10-22) 09/11/2012 - 20/11/2012 3 1994; Rocha, 1992); however, some species seem to not A. Martínez, O. Acevedo and M. Penna, for their invaluable help follow this rule (Vega and Bellagamba, 2005). On the in the field and laboratory. Funds come from Fondecyt 1090251 other hand, the effect of body size and fecundity in L. and 1120181 (AL). chiliensis suggests that the previous reported variation in the number of eggs might be consequence of variation References in the size of the females considered. Donoso-Barros, R. (1966): Reptiles de Chile. Santiago, Chile. Based on fecundity and body size data available Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile. for other Liolaemus species (see Donoso-Barros, Hoare, M., Labra, A. (2013): Searching for the audience of the 1966; Ibargüengoytía, 2008; Leyton and Valencia, weeping lizard’s distress call. Ethology 119: 860–868. 1992; Pincheira-Donoso-Treguenza, 2011; Ramirez- Ibargüengoytía, N.R. (2008): Estrategias reproductivas en reptiles. In: Herpetología de Chile, p. 391–425. Vidal, M.A., Labra, A. Pinilla, 1992, 1995; Rocha, 1992), L. chiliensis has a Eds., Santiago, Chile, Science Verlag. comparative larger clutch size than other Liolaemus Labra, A., Silva, G., Norambuena, F., Velázquez, N., Penna, M. species. It is unknown, however, which are the selective (2013): Acoustic features of the weeping lizard’s distress call. forces that may determine this larger clutch size in L. Copeia 2013: 206–212. chiliensis. Labra, A., Reyes-Olivares, C., Weymann, M. (2016): Asymmetric The distributional range of L. chiliensis covers around response to heterotypic distress calls in the lizard Liolaemus 10° of latitude; it goes between Coquimbo (29°S; chiliensis. Ethology 122: 758–768. Leyton, V., Valencia, J. (1992): Follicular population dynamics: its Pincheira-Donoso and Núñez, 2005) to Valdivia (39°S; relation to clutch and litter size in Chilean Liolaemus lizards. Moreno et al., 2002). We reported data from a population In: Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates, p. coming from the midpoint of the species distribution. 123 –134. Hamlett, W. Ed., New �ork, Springer. Therefore, to understand the selective pressure of the Martori, R.A., Aun, L. (1997): Reproduction and fat body cycle high fecundity of L. chiliensis, it would be necessary of Liolaemus wiegmannii in central Argentina. Journal of to include data from the extreme populations. This Herpetology 31: 578–581. would also allow for testing at intraspecific level if, in Mella, J. (2005): Guía de campo reptiles de Chile: Zona Centra. Peñaloza, A.P.G., Novoa, F., Contreras, M. Eds., Santiago, fact, fecundity is not affected by the climatic conditions, Chile, Ediciones del Centro de Ecología Aplicada. as was suggested by Pincheira-Donoso and Treguenza Moreno, R., Vidal, M., Ortiz, J.C. (2002): Geographic distribution. (2011). Testing this would be also relevant considering Liolaemus chiliensis (NCN). Herpetological Review1 33: 226. that southern populations of L. chiliensis (at lower Pincheira-Donoso, D., Núñez, H. (2005): Las especies chilenas temperatures) present smaller body size (Labra et al., del género Liolaemus Wiegmann. 1834 (Iguania: Tropiduridae: 2016). Therefore, more research could clarify if the Liolaeminae). Taxonomía, sistemática y evolución. Publicación southern populations have an absolute lower number ocasional del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Chile 59: 1–486. of eggs than the central populations, due to their body Pincheira-Donoso, D., Tregenza, T. (2011): Fecundity selection size, but keep a relative high fecundity, as the central and the evolution of reproductive output and sex-specific body population studied here. size in the Liolaemus lizard adaptive radiation. Evolutionary Biology 38: 197–207. Acknowledgements. The study was authorized by SAG Ramírez–Pinilla, M.P. (1992): Actividad reproductiva en tres (Resolution No. 7266) and by the Scientific Ethics Committee of especies simpátricas del género Liolaemus (Reptilia: Sauria: the Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile. We thank A. Zapata, Tropiduridae). Caldasia 17: 67–74. J. Constanzo, M. Hoare, G. Silva, S. Valdecantos, F. Norambuena, Ramírez–Pinilla, M.P. (1994): Reproductive and fat body cycles Egg laying record for Liolaemus chiliensis 531 of the oviparous lizard Liolaemus scapularis. Journal of Herpetology 28: 521–524. Ramírez–Pinilla, M.P. (1995): Reproductive and fat body cycles of the oviparous lizard Liolaemus bitaeniatus (Sauria: Tropiduridae). Journal of Herpetology 29: 256–260. Rocha, C.F.D. (1992): Reproductive and fat body cycles of the tropical sand lizard (Liolaemus lutzae) of southeastern Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 26: 17–23. Vega, L.E., Bellagamba, P.J. (2005): Ciclo reproductivo de Liolaemus gracilis Bell, 1843 (Iguanidae: Tropidurinae) en las dunas costeras de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetología 18: 3–13. Accepted by Gonçalo Rosa.