. Asiatic herpetological research. Reptiles -- Asia Periodicals; Amphibians -- Asia Periodicals. **$,. * FIG. 6. Habitat of Phrynocephalus guttatus on the west side of the Caspian Sea in Chechen-Ingush, Russia. populations on the plateau islands not covered by sea: South Ustyurt Krasnovodsk, Kiysil-Kum and Fergana Depression (Fig. 4). The formation of the Phrynocephlalus mystaceus complex (or genus Megalochilus), (Figs. 7 and 8), and of the parallel sand inhabiting P. interscapularis complex, continued in the extreme southern portion of Middle Asia under conditions of sandy desert formation. T
. Asiatic herpetological research. Reptiles -- Asia Periodicals; Amphibians -- Asia Periodicals. **$,. * FIG. 6. Habitat of Phrynocephalus guttatus on the west side of the Caspian Sea in Chechen-Ingush, Russia. populations on the plateau islands not covered by sea: South Ustyurt Krasnovodsk, Kiysil-Kum and Fergana Depression (Fig. 4). The formation of the Phrynocephlalus mystaceus complex (or genus Megalochilus), (Figs. 7 and 8), and of the parallel sand inhabiting P. interscapularis complex, continued in the extreme southern portion of Middle Asia under conditions of sandy desert formation. The adaptive radiation of Phrynocephalus in sympatry, according to Peters (1984), could have been accompanied by increasing differences in the body size. This seems to have been important in the evolution of P. mystaceus. On quick moving sand dunes with steep slopes, the largest specimens could survive. They were able to dig uncrumbling deep holes protecting them from summer heat and low winter temperatures. They were also able to release themselves from the captivity of the sand during movement of sand dunes. It should be noted that ridges formed from the stabilized aeolian landforms in the Pleistocene when mountain structures, which mainly determine the direction of the air streams, were formed. It is assumed that the direction of sand movement remained the same at least to the Upper Neogene (Voskresensky, 1968). The plains with newly formed meso- and microrelief created before the Quarternary drying and cooling by wind activity were alluvial plains with all the typical features (Voskresensky, 1968). P. mystaceus evolved under the conditions of blowing sand. The decreasing of body size of P. mystaceus mystaceus in comparison with P. mystaceus galli may be indirect evidence in favour of this hypothesis. There may be correlations between this change of body. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability
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