Species:

Darevskia caucasica  (MÉHELY, 1909)

Subspecies (2):

Darevskia caucasica caucasica  (MÉHELY, 1909)

Darevskia caucasica vedenica  (DAREVSKY & ROITBERG 1999)

Synonyms:

Lacerta muralis  BOETTGER, 1893

Lacerta caucasica  MÉHELY, 1909

acerta muralis var. caucasica  BOULENGER, 1913

Lacerta saxicola caucasica  NIKOLSKY, 1915

Darevskia caucasica  ARRIBAS, 1997

Common names:

Caucasian lizard (English)
Kaukasus-Eidechse (German)
Кавказская ящерица (Russian)

Types:

caucasica: Lectotype: SMF 12069 (6028 b), 1.05.1879. Сoll.: H. Leder (fide DORONIN 2014), (MEHELY listed about 19 specimens).

vedenica: Holotype: ZISP 17744 (1). Russian Federation, Chechnya, Vedensky District, 1 km south of the of Vedeno Village, rock faces along the road Vedeno-Kharachoi (= Khоrachoi), 42°57 ́N 46°07 ́E, 14.08.1963. Coll.: И.С. Даревский

Terra Typica:

caucasica: Kazbek Mountain, the Caucasus, Republic of Georgia; “Mleti, Aragwathal, Transkaukasien” (fide MEHELY 1909) etc. incl. Kasbek, Lars and other localities. Lectotype locality: Republic of Georgia, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kazbegi Municipality, Mount Kazbek, 42°40 ́N 44°35 ́E (Fig. 6 in DORONIN 2014) (the lectotype locality invalidates the original type locality).

vedenica: Southern slopes and foothills of the Andiiskii ridge, Chechen Republic, probably adjacent territories of Daghestan. Type locality: 1 km south of Vedeno rock faces along the road Vedeno -Kharochoi) SE Chechen Republic.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Méhely, L. (1909) -  Description of Darevskia caucasica. – In: “Materialien zu einer Systematik und Phylogenie der muralis-ähnlichen Lacerten”. -  Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis Hungarici, Budapest, 7 (2): 409-621.   

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• Roitberg, E.S. (1999) -  Morphological differentiation of nominative and Dagestan forms of the complex Lacerta caucasica (Sauria, Lacertidae) in the contact zone: Sympatric populations from Dagestan and Southeastern Chechnya. -  Russian Journal of Zoology, 78 (2): 217-227.    

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  Five sympatric populations of Lacerta caucasica (s. st.) and L. daghestanica from the eastern North Caucasus were examined for color pattern (qualitatively) and seven scalation and five morphometric characters by using multivariate and univariate biometrical procedures. In all five localities, daghestanica form differs from caucasica one in having more scales in different meristic rows (scales around midbody, ventrals, femoral pores, superciliary granules, temporals, but not circumanalia), relatively long, narrow and flattened head and longer hindlegs. The degree of phenetic separation between these: two sympatric forms was found to vary from a distinct specific level in the South-East of Chechen Republic to a slight intergradation in southwestern Daghestan. These differences in the level of morphological separation manifest themselves both in scalation and morphomerty, but the latter set of characteristic was less discriminative. Taking into account some features of geographic relations between daghestanica and caucasica forms, it was suggested that different portions of their contact zone had fixed different stages of evolutionary divergence.

• Bischoff, W. (2003) -  Die Eidechsenfauna Georgiens. Teil II. Die Gattung Darevskia. -  Die Eidechse, Bonn, 14 (3): 65-93.    

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  In Georgia, 16 species of rock lizards of the Genus Darevskia are occuring (D. alpina, D. „armeniaca`, D. brauneri, D. caucasica, D. clarkorum, D. daghestanica, D. „dahli`, D. derjugini, D. mixta, D. nairensis, D. parvula, D. portschinskii, D. praticola, D. rudis, D. „unisexualis` and D. Valentini). Besides short presentations of the single species and hints on their distribution and habitats, also some systematic remarks are given.

• Ciobanu, D.G. & Grechko, V.V. & Darevsky, I.S. (2003) -  Molecular Evolution of Satellite DNA CLsat in Lizards from the Genus Darevskia (Sauria: Lacertidae): Correlation with Species Diversity. -  Russian Journal of Genetics, Moscow, 39 (11): 1292-1305.    

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  The structure and evolution of a satellite DNA family was examined in lizards from the genus Darevskia(family Lacertidae). Comparison of tandem units of repeated DNA (satDNA), CLsat, in all species from the genus Darevskiahas shown that their variability is largely explained by single-nucleotide substitutions, which form about 50 diagnostic positions underlying classification of the family into three subfamilies. Maximum differences between the subfamilies reached 25%. At this level of tandem unit divergence in the subfamilies, no cross-hybridization between them was observed (at 65°C). The individual variability within one subfamily within the species was on average 5% while the variability between species consensuses within a subfamily was 10%. The presence of highly conserved regions in all monomers and some features of their organization show that satellites of all Darevskia species belong to one satDNA family. The organization of unit sequences of satellites CLsat and Agi160 also detected by us in another lizard genus, Lacerta s. str. was compared. Similarity that was found between these satellites suggests their relatedness and common origin. A possible pathway of evolution of these two satDNA families is proposed. The distribution and content of CLsat repeat subfamilies in all species of the genus was examined by Southern hybridization. Seven species had mainly CLsatI (83 to 96%); three species, approximately equal amounts of CLsatI and CLsatIII (the admixture of CLsatII was 2–5%); and five species, a combination of all three subfamilies in highly varying proportions. Based on these results as well as on zoogeographic views on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Darevskia species, hypotheses on the evolution of molecular-genetic relationships within this genus are advanced.

  Чобану Д.Г., Гречко В.В., Даревский И.С. (2003) -  Молекулярная эволюция сателлитной ДНК CLSAT ящериц рода Darevskia (Sauria: Laeertidae): корреляция с видовым разнообразием. -  Генетика, 39 (11): 1527-1541.  

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  Исследовали структуру и эволюцию семейства сателлитной ДНК ящериц рода Darevskia сем. Lac-ertidae. При сравнительном анализе последовательностей мономеров тандемных повторов ДНК (сатДНК) - CLsat - всех видов ящериц р. Darevskia показано, что вариабельность повторов обусловлена главным образом однонуклеотидными заменами, которые образуют около 50 диагностических позиций, на основании которых выделены три подсемейства повторов. Максимальные значения различий между подсемействами достигают 25%. При такой степени дивергенции мономеров трех подсемейств перекрестной гибридизации (при 65°С) между ними не наблюдается. Индивидуальная вариабельность мономеров одного подсемейства внутри вида в среднем составляет 5%, а вариабельность между видовыми консенсусами внутри подсемейства - 10%. Наличие высококонсервативных областей во всех мономерах и ряд особенностей их организации позволяют рассматривать сателлиты всех видов р. Darevskia как единое семейство сатДНК. Приведено сравнение организации последовательности мономеров сателлита CLsat и обнаруженного нами Agi160 из другого рода ящериц -Lacerta s. str. Выявлено сходство, свидетельствующее о родстве этих сателлитов и об их общем происхождении, предложен вероятный путь эволюции этих двух семейств сатДНК. Методом Саузерн-гибридизации изучено распространение и содержание подсемейств повторов CLsat во всех видах рода. Семь видов содержат в основном CLsatl (от 83 до 96%), три вида - примерно равные количества CLsatl и CLsatIII (примесь CLsatII составляет 2-5%), а пять видов - сумму всех трех подсемейств в сильно отличающихся соотношениях. На основе этих данных, в совокупности с зоогеографически-ми представлениями о родстве видов р. Darevskia, предложены гипотезы эволюции молекулярно-генетического родства видов этого рода.