Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-81).

Thesis (M.S.)--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-114).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 94 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-89).

6 Abstract Scincoidean lizards, i.e. cordylids, gerrhosaurids, skinks and xantusiids, are known for their remarkable ecological and morphological variability. It was hypothesized that, at least in skinks, sex determining systems are highly variable as well. In the other three families, evidence for presence or absence of sex chromosomes has been scarce, with two species of night lizards with ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes being the exception. In this thesis, conventional and molecular cytogenetic methods, including C-banding, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with probes for telomeric motifs and rDNA loci and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) were used to identify cytogenetically distinguishable sex chromosomes. Although most studied species showed no sex-specific differences by cytogenetic examination, some did. Tracheloptychus petersi has accumulations of rDNA loci on a pair of macrochromosomes and a pair of microchromosomes in males, while again on a pair of macrochromosomes and a single microchromosome in females. This distribution suggests a ZZ/ZW system in this species, which is the first report of sex chromosomes in any gerrhosaurid lizard. In Zonosaurus madagascariensis, CGH was able to identify the W chromosome in females, which is the second report of sex chromosomes in this family....