The reptiles in Taiwan account for 55 species of snakes, 31 species of lizards, 5 species of terrestrial turtles and 4 species of marine turtles; there are a total of 95 species of reptiles in Taiwan. Some of the recent academic publications on reptilian study include the “Guide to Taiwan 's Lizard,” authored by Professor Jun-Yi Lin and Professor Hsien-Yu Cheng; “Study of Taiwan 's turtles,” written by Professor Shou-Xian Mao; and the yet to be published “Study on Taiwan 's common terrestrial poisonous snakes.” In the realm of popular science literature, books like Professor Guang-Yang Lu's “The amphibians and reptiles of Taiwan ' and field reports on reptiles and amphibians published by major National Parks are available for reference. However, few publications are concerned with the living histories of these reptiles; only the Swinhoe's japalura has been studied in-depth by Professor Jun-Yi Lin and Professor Hsien-Yu Cheng.

The author has been a member of the museum for over two years and is specialized in amphibian specimen collection and field research on some endemic lizard species. Already having obtained some preliminary results, the author has studied species that include short-legged japalura, Indian forest skink, elegant Five-tailed skink, Hsueshan grass lizard and the Hart's glass lizard. Starting in this issue, we will begin to introduce a series of reports on the aforementioned lizards. For ease of reference, the reports will be categorized according to a lizard's diet, color, habitat, activity and breeding behavior; however, each category is close related with each other.

We will begin our introduction with the Short-legged Japalura. This is an endemic species of Taiwan , mainly distributed in 1200m to 2500m high altitude regions in Central and Southern Taiwan . It was first discovered by Gressitt, an American, at Wushe in 1936, and was named Japalura breuipes . However, it was later perceived to be the same species as the Swinhoe's Japalura, until 1989 when it was corrected again by a Japanese researcher named Ota. Therefore, data is scarce on this type of lizard. The body length of an adult short-legged japalura measures between 5.5 to 7.5 cm , relatively small when compared with other three types of japalura. Gender dimorphism is displayed in this species; males have green stripes on the dorsal and lateral sides of the body, females do not. Some females are colored entirely in green.

Diet

As the sun rises and the rising air temperature evaporates the dew drops hanging between the leaves and bushes, the short-legged japalura begin its day of activities. During spring and summer times when the purplish-white passion fruit flowers are blooming in full effect, the short-legged japaluras are attracted by the plethora of insects busying feeding on the nectar. They can also be seen in vegetable patches and flower beds on the edges of mountains. When they awake from hibernation in March, sightings of these lizards increase significantly as they replenish their energy and look for potential mates. Another peak of japalura activity is around October. Before they go into hibernation, these lizards will continuously search for food, in order to store enough energy for the upcoming hibernation and reproductive periods. The energy is stored in two yellow adipose tissues along its dorsal sides and in the liver. The glycogen levels in the adipose tissues and liver drop to their lowest between March and April, and maximize in October.

Color

The green pattern is beneficial for activities in the foliage, hiding the lizard from its natural enemy – birds. The external skin of the short-legged japalura is covered in numerous tiny scales, preventing moisture escape and evaporation. This animal is a poikilotherm; its body temperature varies with the ambient environmental temperature, and will adjust to a temperature suitable for normal activities. Therefore, sunbathing is the favorite activity of this lizard. During hot summer time when its 30 ℃ outside, it will scurry underneath tree shade or cling onto small branches, trying to cool off. When humans approach, it will move to another end of the branch, attempting to hide itself from intruders. It does this because it's afraid. During winter nights when the temperature between November and the February can drop below 0 ℃ , these lizards will hibernate in tree holes.

Habitat

Tree holes or dry leaf clusters make for a suitable permanent or temporary hiding places. These japaluras are territorial; therefore two lizards will not co-exist close together. When japalura B intrudes the realm of japalura A, the latter immediately responds, displaying behavior like push-ups and pattern demonstrations. Usually, most intruders will back off after seeing these signs of territorial proclamation. To male japaluras, possessing territories means ensuring places to rest and grow, as well as increasing the chances of mating and successful breeding. Therefore, territorial claims are an important subject in male rivalries.

Activity

In terms of animal behaviors, those that perch on branches usually have feathers and can fly; those that cling on tree bark have claws and can climb well; those that have strong muscles can run fast, or dig well. The short-legged japalura excels at motor activities; moving about the tree tops most of the time and only coming down to the ground during feeding. When in danger, it will immediately dart back up the tree.

Breeding

During March and between June and July, mature eggs can be found inside the bodies of female short-legged japaluras, indicating that there are two spawning periods per year.

The number of eggs laid by each lizard differs, ranging from 3 to 7 eggs. In terms of the relationship between spawning female body lengths and egg numbers, it was found that larger individuals do not always spawn more eggs. The same conclusion is obtained when the total weight of the eggs are compared to the total body weight. Those that are pregnant in March could have conceived between September and October of last year. The eggs develop gradually during hibernation months. Those that are pregnant in June or July could have conceived during March or April of the same year; however, the eggs will mature faster, which could be related to temperature and time allotted for feeding.

To summarize the above findings, the year round activities of a short-legged japalura can be categorized as follows: (1) Hibernation, November to February; (2) Reproductive period, March to July; (3) Energy consumption period, September to October.