A comparative study of the skull between Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) of the family Scincidae and Lacerta media media (Lantz & Cyrén, 1920) of the family Lacertidae

Abstract

In this study, the adult cranial osteology of Trachylepis vittata and Lacerta media media collected from Kermanshah Province, western Iran, are described and compared based on seven dry skull preparations. Herein, variation patterns are considered in morphology of the cranial, elements of position in the skull structure and elements of connection together between the skull of two species in order to use in phylogenetic analyses and systematic studies. The skull roof, the palate, the mandible, the teeth within each of these two species discussed and compared. The obvious differences are as follows: A complete loss of any one bone was not discerned in the study of the skull of both species, but a obvious decrease was watched in the postorbital bones in T. vittata. Articulations of the jugal, the squamosal and the palatine in the various regions. The variations in form, size and position in bones such as: The nasal processes of the premaxilla, the parietal, the supraoccipital, otoccipital, the paraoccipital process, prearticular, the dentary.