Length weight allometries in lizards

Abstract

900 species in 28 families) dataset of lizard and amphisbaenian weights, I generate equations to estimate weights from the common size index used in lizard morphometrics (snout-vent length). I then use a species-level phylogenetic hypothesis to examine the ecological factors that affect the variation in weight-length relationships. Legless and leg-reduced lizards are characterized by shallower allometric slopes, and thus long-bodied legless species are lighter than legged lizards of comparable length. Among legged species, the foraging strategy strongly influences the weights, with sit-and-wait species being bulkier at comparable lengths than active foraging species. Environmental productivity (positively related to mass) and activity times (diurnal species being heavier) are only significant when using non-phylogenetic models. The need for effective locomotion is a major factor affecting lizard shape. Previously used allometric equations are inaccurate. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Zoological Society of London.