An extensive research effort is devoted to the evolution of life-histories and processes underlying the variation in adult body weight; however, in this regard, some animal taxa remain neglected. Here we report rates and timing of growth recorded in two wild-derived populations of a model lizard species, Eublepharis macularius (M, W), other two related species, i.e., E. angramainyu (A) and E. sp. (D), and their between-species hybrids. We detected clear differences among the examined species/populations, which can be interpreted in the terms of "fast - slow" continuum of life-history strategies. The mean asymptotic body size was the highest in A and further decreased in the following order: M, W, and D. In contrast, the growth rate showed an opposite pattern. Counter-intuitively, the largest species exhibited the slowest growth rates. The final body size was determined mainly by the inflexion point. This parameter reflecting the duration of exponential growth increased with mean asymptotic body size and easily overcompensated the effect of decreasing growth rates in larger species. Compared to the parental species, the F1 and backcross hybrids exhibited intermediate values of growth parameters. Thus, except for the case of the F2 hybrid of MxA, we failed to detect deleterious effects of hybridization in these animals with temperature sex determination.

Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Viničná 7 CZ 12844 Prague 2 Czech Republic

National Institute of Mental Health Topolová 748 CZ 25067 Klecany Czech Republic

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