Blood Gases of some Skink Lizards

Abstract

(1) Po2 and Pco2 of arterial and venous blood are studied in three skink lizards: the bean skink, Mabui quinquetaeniata, inhabiting the cultivated areas, and the two burrowing desert lizards; the ocellated skink, Chalcides ocellatus and the sandfish, Scincus officinalis. The highest Po2 in the arterial blood was that of the bean skink, while the lowest value of arterial Po2 was recognized in the sandfish. On the other hand, C02 content of the arterial and venous blood was much greater in the sandfish than in the ocellated skink or the bean skink. The highly significant differences between the arterial and venous blood gases (Po2 and Pco2), due to acclimatization to low or high temperatures, may reflect the adapatation of these lizards to their habitats. (2) Construction of the 0 2 dissociation curves showed that blood of the sandfish has the highest oxygen affinity, while that of the ocellated skink has the lowest oxygen affinity.