Chalarodon madagascariensis (PETERS, 1854)
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Chalarodon madagascariensis
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| Higher Taxa | Opluridae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Madagascar iguana G: Madagaskar-Sandleguan |
| Synonym | Tropidogaster Blainvillii DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1837: 330 Ptychosaurus (Tritropis) Blainvillii — FITZINGER 1843: 59 Chalarodon madagascariensis PETERS 1854: 616 Chalarodon madagascariensis — BOULENGER 1885: 128 Tropidurus ? blainvillii — BOULENGER 1885: 178 Tropidurus blainvillii — BURT & BURT 1933:45 Chalarodon madagascariensis — ANGEL 1942: 89 Chalarodon madagascariensis — BLANC 1977: 59 Chalarodon madagascariensis — GLAW & VENCES 1994: 258 Chalarodon madagascariensis — SCHLÜTER 2013 |
| Distribution | SW Madagascar (arid and semiarid regions, throughout most of Tuléar Province, extending into SW Fianarantsoa and extreme SW Majunga Provinces). Type locality: Madagascar (St. Augustins Bay) [PETERS 1854] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Lectotype: ZMB 4360 (designated by Miralles et al. 2015); Syntypes: ZMB 4360 (2), 5617, 9214) (2) (PETERS 1854), MNHN-RA 270, BMNH; note that one of the two specimens with the number ZMB 4360 was renumbered to ZMB 69147, one of the two specimens with the number ZMB 9214 was renumbered to ZMB 69144, and the formerly overlooked skeleton ZMB 13569 was identified as an additional syntype, whereas ZMB 5617 is currently missing from the collection (F. Tillack, pers. comm. 27. Jan. 2015, cited in Miralles et al. 2015). One syntype has been exchanged with the Muséum nationale d'Histoire naturelle at Paris and now bears the number MNHN 270 (see Brygoo 1989). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Chalarodon madagascariensis can be easily differentiated from Oplurus by its smaller size, longitudinal dorsal crest (especially marked in sexually mature males) running from the occipital region to the mid-length of the tail, and absence of enlarged spiny scale rows on tail (Blanc 1977; Glaw & Vences 2007). |
| Comment | Synonymy: The names Tropidogaster Blainvillii Duméril & Bibron 1837 and Ptychosaurus (Tritropis) Blainvillii — Fitzinger 1843 have been declared invalid (Official Index Op. 955, 1971). Type species: Chalarodon madagascariensis PETERS 1854 is the type species of the genus Chalarodon PETERS 1854. Habitat: Chalarodon madagascariensis is a terrestrial species commonly observed on the sandy soils of forested or bushy areas of the sub-arid to semi-arid southern and western regions of Madagascar (Blanc 1969, 1970). Phylogenetics: The molecular phylogeny of Münchenberg et al. (2008) retrieved the two genera Oplurus and Chalarodon as reciprocally monophyletic, with good support for Chalarodon but weak support for the genus Oplurus, whereas Pyron et al. (2013) recovered Oplurus as paraphyletic with respect to Chalarodon. |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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