Interrelationships among reproductive traits of female lizard, Sitana ponticeriana (Cuvier)

Abstract

Interrelationships among maternal body size, clutch size and egg size were studied in the ground lizard, Sitana ponticeriana. In these lizards, clutch size varied from 7 to 19. Initial clutches were larger than the potential next clutch. Clutch size and mass were positively correlated with maternal body size (Snout-vent length, SVL), but not with maternal body condition. Maternal SVL or clutch size had no influence on egg mass and egg volume. No trade-off was evident between clutch and egg sizes. Thus, in S. ponticeriana egg size is essentially invariant despite a great variation in clutch size across the females of different sizes.