Table 7

List and brief description of the phenotypic measurements taken

Variable (unit)

Description

SVL (mm)

snout to vent length

Total length (mm)

snout to tail tip length

SVL ratio

SVL/total length

Body mass (g)

Head length (mm)

distances between the tip of the snout and the occipital edge

Head width (mm)

distances between the borders of the outermost left and right

supraocular scales (located behind the eyes).

Head shape

degree of head sharpness. Head width/head length [82]

Snout width (mm)

distance between the left and right foremost intersection point of

the first supraocular and the first supraciliar scale

Snout length (mm)

distance between the tip of the snout and the orthogonal

intersection with the snout width

Snout shape

degree of snout sharpness. Snout length/snout width

Anal scale width (mm)

distance between the posterior borders of the anal scale

Relative anal scale

anal scale width/SVL [84]

width

Femoral pores

mean number of right and left femoral pores

Ventral scales

number of longitudinal ventral scale rows

Subocular scales

number supralabial scales below subocular scale [103]

Throat scales

number throat scales

Collar scales

number well-differentiated collar scales

Number of ocelli

mean number of left and right ocels

Nuptial coloration

sum of presence/absence (1/0) of green coloration on neck, belly, subocular and supralabial scales + number of green coloured longitudinal lines + number of green coloured longitudinal lines that spread further than the middle of the body/2

Fitze et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011 11:347   doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-347