A New Species of Pygmy Alligator Lizard (Squamata: Anguidae) from Nuevo León, México

Javier Banda-Leal; Manuel Nevárez-de los Reyes; Robert W. Bryson Jr.

doi:10.1670/15-168

Article Contents

Abstract
Materials and Methods
Discussion
Acknowledgments
Literature Cited
Appendix 1

Editorial Type:

Article Category: Research Article

Online Publication Date: 16 Mar 2017

A New Species of Pygmy Alligator Lizard (Squamata: Anguidae) from Nuevo León, México

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Page Range: 223 – 226

DOI: 10.1670/15-168

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Abstract

We describe a new species of smooth-scaled anguid from arid northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León, México. This new species is similar to the other smooth-scaled gerrhonotines: Gerrhonotus lugoi McCoy, 1970, from the Cuatrociénegas Basin of Coahuila; G. parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985, from the Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León; and G. farri Bryson and Graham, 2010, from the Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas. It differs from these species in several important morphological characters, including number of postrostral scales, postoculars, postmentals, sublabials, and dorsal and ventral scale rows. It also is the only known anguid to possess three postmentals and a novel azygous scale between the postmentals and the gular shields.

Resumen

Se describe una nueva especie de anguido de escamas lisas de zona árida en las faldas del norte de la Sierra Madre Oriental en Nuevo León, México. Esta nueva especie es similar a otros gerrhonótidos de escamas lisas como Gerrhonotus lugoi McCoy, 1970, del Valle de Cuatrociénegas en Coahuila, G. parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985, de la Sierra Madre Oriental en Nuevo León y G. farri Bryson and Graham, 2010, de la Sierra Madre Oriental en Tamaulipas. Se diferencia de estas especies en un número importante de caracteres morfológicos, incluyendo el número de escamas postrostrales, postoculares, postmentales, sublabiales y en las hileras de escamas dorsales y ventrales. También es el único anguido conocido que poseer tres postmentales y una escama entre el postmentales y escudos gulares.

Fig . 1.

Gerrhonotus lazcanoi sp. nov. (holotype, UANL 7273), specimen in life.

Fig . 2.

Gerrhonotus lazcanoi sp. nov. (holotype, UANL 7273), dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of head. Postmental scales numbered; differentiated, azygous scale between postmentals and gular shields shaded for identification.

Fig . 3.

Habitat at the type locality of Gerrhonotus lazcanoi sp. nov., 4.4 km east of Rinconada, Municipality of García, Nuevo León, México. Inset depicts the spot at the base of an Echinocereus stramenius cactus where the holotype was found.

Fig . 4.

Geographic distribution of the four smooth-scaled species of Gerrhonotus: G. lugoi (triangle), G. lazcanoi sp. nov. (star), G. parvus (circles), and G. farri (square).

Contributor Notes

² Corresponding Author. E-mail: javier_banda@hotmail.com

Accepted: 29 Aug 2016

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Image and text by William W. Lamar

The Gibba Toad-headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys gibba) is a wide-ranging South American species in the lowlands of the Orinoco and Amazon Basins. A relatively small-bodied species with carapace length rarely exceeding 35 cm, the nocturnal M. gibba inhabits rainforest streams, hardpan pools of shallow water in gallery forests, and Mauritia palm swamps. Diet consists primarily of small invertebrates and mollusks. Owing in part to their foul-smelling defensive musk, they are not used as food by local populations of people. Photograph taken in Avispas Cocha, Río Tigre, Loreto, Peru.