Sceloporus aurantius GRUMMER & BRYSON, 2014
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Sceloporus aurantius
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| Higher Taxa | Phrynosomatidae, Sceloporinae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Southern Occidental Bunchgrass Lizard S: Lagartija de Pastizal Sur Occidental |
| Synonym | Sceloporus aurantius GRUMMER & BRYSON 2014 Sceloporus scalaris — MCCRANIE & WILSON 2001: 20 (part) Sceloporus scalaris — VAZQUEZ-DIAZ & QUINTERO-DIAZ 2005: 155 (part) Sceloporus scalaris brownorum — SMITH et al. 1997: 290 (part) Sceloporus scalaris brownorum — WATKINS-COLWELL et al. 2006: 814.1 (part) Sceloporus scalaris brownorum — BRYSON et al. 2012: 448 (part) Sceloporus scalaris brownorum — GRUMMER et al. 2014: 120 (part) Sceloporus aurantius — CRUZ-SÁENZ et al. 2017 Sceloporus aurantius — HEIMES 2022 |
| Distribution | Mexico (SW Aguascalientes, S Zacatecas: Sierra Madre Occidental, Jalisco) Type locality: Mexico: Aguascalientes: Municipio Calvillo, Los Alisos, Sierra del Laurel (N 21°43’32.2”, W102°42’01.4”; 2419 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: MZFC 28392 (field number RWB 1042; Fig. 4). Adult female. 20 July 2010. Robert W. Bryson, Jr. Paratypes. Thirteen specimens. Mexico: Aguascalientes: Same locality as the holotype. 20 July 2010. Robert W. Bryson, Jr., José Carlos Arenas-Monroy, and Michael Torocco. MZFC 25101–25106 (field numbers RWB 1019–1024). Four adult females, two adult males (Fig. 5). Ciénega [Sierra del Laurel] (N 21°45’0.0”, W 102°43’01.2”; 2370 m). 4 August 1979. Larry Wilson. USNM 346561–346564. Two adult females, two adult males. Jalisco: 1 mi NE Villa Hidalgo [foothills of the Sierra del Laurel]. 24 October 1950. KUH 29636. Juvenile male. Zacatecas: Ojo de Agua, 2.5 km NW Rancho Los Adobes (N 21°44’53.86”, W 103°29’42.9”; 2140 m). 27 April 2008. Iván T. Ahumada Carrillo. MZFC 24818. Adult male (Fig. 6). 3.4 km S La Estancia (N 21°41’44.2”, W 103°28’56.1”; 2228 m). 26 May 2008. Iván T. Ahumada Carrillo. MZFC 24831. Adult male. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Sceloporus aurantius sp. nov. belongs to the S. scalaris species group, sharing with other species in that group the following characters: parallel lateral scale rows (except in S. goldmani), femoral pore series in contact or separated by no more than two scales, females with smooth preanal scales, and males with lateral abdominal color patches (Smith 1939; Smith et al. 1997; Watkins-Cowell et al. 2006). Sceloporus aurantius sp. nov. differs from all S. scalaris group species except S. chaneyi by the lack of blue belly bars in adult males. Sceloporus aurantius sp. nov. differs from S. chaneyi in adult size (mean snout-to-vent length 49.8 mm vs. 45.7 mm), number of dorsal scales (mean of 39.2 vs. 42.3), number of scales around midbody (mean of 37.9 vs. 40.4), and presence of an un-patterned morph (absent in S. chaneyi). Although not a diagnostic character state, Sceloporus aurantius sp. nov. further differs from S. chaneyi, and all other species in the S. scalaris species group, by unique phylogenetic position revealed through species delimitation (Grummer et al. 2014; Fig. 2). |
| Comment | Synonymy: after Grummer et al. 2014. Similar species: S. aurantius is a highly variable species. It was previously confused with S. brownorum but differs from this and all but one species within the S. scalaris group by a lack of blue belly patches in males. It shares with S. chaneyi an absence of blue belly patches, but differs from this species in size, number of dorsal scales, number of scales around midbody, and presence of an un-patterned morph. The new species further differs from S. chaneyi, and all other species in the S. scalaris species group, by unique phylogenetic position revealed through species delimitation based on multi-locus nuclear DNA. Females are difficult to distinguish from other regional species of bunchgrass lizard such as S. brownorum. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is formed by the Latin adjective aurantius, which means “orange colored”, in reference to the orange dorsolateral streak of males. |
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