A new species of anole from the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero, Mexico (Reptilia, Squamata, Dactyloidae: Norops)

Title: A new species of anole from the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero, Mexico (Reptilia, Squamata, Dactyloidae: Norops)

Creators: Gunther Köhler, Claus Bo P. Petersen & Fausto R. Mendez de la Cruz

Submitted November 11, 2018.
Accepted March 15, 2019.
Published online at www.senckenberg.de/vertebrate-zoology on March 28, 2019.
Published in print on Q2/2019.

DOI: 10.26049/VZ69-2-2019-02 
PDF/A 4MB

Published by Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung

Date (Publication Year): 2019

Resource Type (General): TEXT

Resource Type (optional): Vertebrate Zoology, Scientific Article

Description: We describe the new species Norops brianjuliani sp. nov. from the Pacific versant of southern Mexico. Norops brianjuliani differs from all congeners by having a combination of (1) smooth ventral scales; (2) usually a patch of three greatly enlarged supraocular scales; (3) moderately long hind legs, longest toe of adpressed hind leg reaching to a point between posterior and anterior levels of eye, ratio shank length/snout–vent length 0.24–0.26; (4) a pair of greatly enlarged postcloacal scales in males; (5) 10 to 12 rows of greatly enlarged, keeled middorsal scales; and (6) a very large pink dewlap in males. In external morphology, N. brianjuliani is most similar to N. liogaster from which it differs by having larger middorsal scales (more than three times the size of granular flank scales in N. brianjuliani vs. less than three times in N. liogaster). Also, in a preliminary molecular genetic analysis, N. brianjuliani has a genetic distance of 8.7% (16S) and 15.3% (COI), respectively, from N. liogaster.

Key words: Norops brianjuliani sp. nov.; Dactyloidae; Guerrero; Mexico; new species; Reptilia; Squamata.

Citation: KÖHLER, G., PETERSEN, C.B.P., MENDEZ DE LA CRUZ, F. R. (2019). A new species of anole from the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero, Mexico (Reptilia, Squamata, Dactyloidae: Norops). Vertebrate Zoology, 69(2): 145-160. https://doi.org/10.26049/VZ69-2-2019-02