A global analysis of field body temperatures of active squamates in relation to climate and behaviour

Aim: Squamate fitness is affected by body temperature, which in turn is influenced by environmental temperatures and, in many species, by exposure to solar radiation. The biophysical drivers of body temperature have been widely studied, but we lack an integrative synthesis of actual body temperatures experienced in the field, and their relationships to environmental temperatures, across phylogeny, behaviour, and climate.
Location: Global (25 countries on six continents)
Taxa: Squamates (210 species, representing 25 families)
Methods: We measured body temperatures during activity for 20,231 individuals, and examined how body temperatures vary with substrate and air temperatures across taxa, climates, and behaviours (basking and diel activity).
Results: Heliothermic lizards had the highest body temperatures and those most weakly correlated with substrate and air temperatures. Body temperatures of non-heliothermic diurnal lizards were similar to heliotherms in relation to air temperature b..., We (all authors of this work) caught active squamates in the field, in many sites across the world, and measured their body temperatures (Tb). We then measured substrate temperatures (Tsub) and/or air temperatures (Ta) at the specific location where each individual was found. The method of measurement varied among groups. Most of us took cloacal temperatures using either a digital thermocouple or an analogue thermometer, but in a few cases, body temperature was measured using an infrared thermometer (measuring skin temperature) or temperature-sensitive radio transmitters. Cloacal temperatures were taken immediately (no more than 1 minute) after the individual was caught. Note that these environmental temperature data are used here in the absence of measurements of other thermal properties of the environment. Thus, they do not enable to qualify thermal quality and thermoregulatory strategy and efficiency (Hertz et al., 1993). Protocols were consistent for each species and therefore could..., , # A global analysis of field body temperatures of active squamates in relation to climate and behaviour

| Column title | Type | Description |
| :--------------- | :------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Species | factor | Binomial name, updated to fit the Reptile Database 2022 |
| Category | factor | \[Based on the data in rows 4-6]. Helio\_liz = heliothermic lizard. Non\_helio\_liz = non-heliothermic lizard. Snake\_diur = diurnal snakes. Nocturnal = n...