The Study of Sexual Dimorphism in Lizard Teratoscincus bedriagai (Sauria: Sphaerodactylidae) in Damghan County, Semnan Province

Sexual dimorphism (SD) is changes in body shape or size between the two sexes. SD is a common phenomenon in lizards, even observed among populations of the same species occupying different habitats. The Bedriaga’s Skink Gecko, Teratoscincus bedriagai, belonging to the family Sphaerodactylidae, is a nocturnal species which has been distributed in northern and eastern desert basins of the Central Plateau of Iran. A total number of 30 adult specimens (15 males and 15 females) of T. bedriagai were collected from April to August 2013 from four stations in southern parts of Damghan County, Semnan Province. All the specimens were collected at night using a torch, transferred to Zoological laboratory of Damghan Branch, Islamic Azad University. After anesthetizing the specimens, ten metric and meristic characters were measured. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS 18. The results of present study show that males and females of T. bedriagai are not significantly different (p < 0.01) in metric (body weight and length, tail length, head length, head width) and meristic (right and left supralabial and infralabial scales, and scales around the mid-body) characters.