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Gerrhonotus infernalis BAIRD, 1859

IUCN Red List - Gerrhonotus infernalis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAnguidae (Gerrhonotinae), Diploglossa, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Texas Alligator Lizard
S: Cantil de Tierra 
SynonymGerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis BAIRD 1859
Gerrhonotus infernalis BAIRD 1859: 255
Gerrhonotus infernalis — O’SHAUGHNESSY 1873: 46
Pterogasterus infernalis — COPE 1878: 96
Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis — COPE 1900: 517
Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis — SMITH 1946: 463
Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 204
Gerrhonotus liocephalus taylori TIHEN 1954
Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis — WERMUTH 1969: 20
Gerrhonotus liocephalus taylori — WERMUTH 1969: 21
Gerrhonotus liocephalus taylori — TANNER 1987
Gerrhonotus liocephalus aguayoi CONTRERAS-ARQUIETA 1989
Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 140
Gerrhonotus infernalis — GOOD 1994
Gerrhonotus infernalis — CROTHER 2000
Gerrhonotus taylori — LEMOS-ESPINAL et al. 2004
Gerrhonotus infernalis — BRYSON & LAZCANO 2005
Gerrhonotus taylori — LEMOS-ESPINAL & SMITH 2007
Gerrhonotus infernalis — CROTHER et al. 2012
Gerrhonotus taylori — LEMOS-ESPINAL 2015
Gerrhonotus infernalis — GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ et al. 2018 
DistributionMexico (San Luis Potosí, Coahuila, Hidalgo, Durango, probably Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Querétaro, Guanajuato), USA (C Texas)

Type locality: Devils River, Texas.

taylori: Chihuahua, Mexico; Type locality: Clarines Mine, about 5 miles west of Santa Barbara, Chihuahua, Mexico, at an elevation of about 6800 feet.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 3090
Holotype: AMNH 67918 [taylori] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1635 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: Lemos-Espinal & Smith, 2007 and others continue to recognize Gerrhonotus taylori as a distinct species despite contravening evidence presented by Good (1994), who regarded G. taylori to be a junior synonym of G. infernalis. Good 1988 considered infernalis as synonym of G. liocephalus. More recently, G. taylori was not considered as a valid taxon by Liner and Casas-Andreu (2008) or Lavín-Murcio and Lazcano (2010), or by JONES & LOVICH (2009: 522).

Distribution: See map in García‐Vázquez et al. 2018: Fig. 3, Blair et al. 2021: Figure 1. 
EtymologyThe specific name infernalis is Latin for "underground" or "belonging to the lower regions," in reference to its secretive, semifossorial habits (Lemos-Espinal & Dixon 2013). 
References
  • Baird, S.F. 1859. Description of new genera and species of North American lizards in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 10: 253-256 [1858] - get paper here
  • Blair, A.P. 1950. Notes on Two Anguid Lizards. Copeia 1950 (1): 57 - get paper here
  • Blair, Christopher; Robert W Bryson, Uri O García-Vázquez, Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca, David Lazcano, John E Mccormack, John Klicka 2021. Phylogenomics of alligator lizards elucidate diversification patterns across the Mexican Transition Zone and support the recognition of a new genus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135 (1): 25–39 [print January 2022, online 25 November 2021] - get paper here
  • Bryson, R.W. & Lazcano, D. 2005. Gerrhonotus parvus. Reptilia (GB) (39): 69-72 - get paper here
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  • García-Bastida, M., Madrid-Sotelo, C. A. & Lazcano, D. 2012. Evaluation of a simple method of externally attaching radio-transmitters to the Texas alligator lizard, Gerrhonotus infernalis. Herpetological Review 43: 410-412 - get paper here
  • García-Bastida, Margarita, David Lazcano, Lance D. McBrayer, and Roberto Mercado-Hernández 2013. Sexual Dimorphism in the Alligator Lizard Gerrhonotus infernalis (Sauria: Anguidae): Implications for Sexual Selection. Southwestern Naturalist Jun 2013, Vol. 58, No. 2: 202-208. - get paper here
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  • García‐Vázquez UO, Nieto‐Montes de Oca A, Bryson RW Jr, Schmidt‐Ballardo W, Pavón‐Vázquez CJ. 2018. Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the genus Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae). J Biogeogr. XX:1–13 - get paper here
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