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Plica lumaria DONNELLY & MYERS, 1991

IUCN Red List - Plica lumaria - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaTropiduridae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymPlica lumaria DONNELLY & MYERS 1991: 24
Plica nigra MÄGDEFRAU 1991
Tropidurus nigra — FROST 1992
Tropidurus lumarius — MYERS & DONNELLY 2001
Plica lumaria — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999
Plica lumaria — FROST et al. 2001 
DistributionS Venezuela (found only on the top of the Guaiquinima Tepui)

Type locality: approximately 1090 m elevation, Cerro
Guaiquinima, Bolivar, Venezuela.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: AMNH 136176 (field no.CWM 18976), an adult male collected by C.W. Myers and M.A.Donnelly on February 24, 1990. 
Diagnosis 
CommentThis species is closely related to Plica plica and characterized by a complete black upside with only small light spots. The new species differs also from Plica plica in smaller size and specific behaviour. The superciliaries are directed laterally, it lacks clusters of spines on the fold below the auditory meatus, and it has 141–156 rows of scales around mid-body and 27–33 lamellae under the fourth toe (Donnelly and Myers 1991).

Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). This is one of the species called 'lost' and 'rediscovered' by Lindken et al. 2024.

Diet: a large percentage of the diet of this species (10-30%) consists of ants (Lucas et al. 2023). 
EtymologyNamed after Latin lumarius, of or for thorns: falces, for cutting down thorns [“...The species name is a Latin adjective (ofthorns) referring to the thornlike scales that cover the body...”]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024) 
References
  • Catenazzi, A., and P. J. Venegas 2012. Anfibios y reptiles/Amphibians and reptiles. in: N. Pitman, E. Ruelas Inzunza, D. Alvira, C. Vriesendorp, D. K. Moskovits, Á. del Campo, T. Wachter, D. F. Stotz, S. Noningo Sesén, E. Tuesta Cerrón, y/and R. C. Smith, eds. Perú: Cerros de Kampankis. R The Field Museum, Chicago, pp. 106–117, 260–271, 348–365 - get paper here
  • Cavalcanti, Lucas B Q; Gabriel C Costa, Guarino R Colli, Eric R Pianka, Laurie J Vitt, Daniel O Mesquita 2023. Myrmecophagy in lizards: evolutionary and ecological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023;, zlad175, - get paper here
  • Donnelly M A; Myers C W 1991. Herpetological results of the 1990 Venezuelan Expedition to the summit of Cerro Guaiquinima, with new tepui reptiles. American Museum Novitates (3017): 1-54 - get paper here
  • Frost, Darrel R. 1992. Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of the Tropidurus group of lizards (Iguania: Tropidurudae). American Museum Novitates (3033): 1-68 - get paper here
  • Frost, Darrel R., Miguel T. Rodrigues, Taran Grant, and Tom A. Titus 2001. Phylogenetics of the Lizard Genus Tropidurus (Squamata: Tropiduridae: Tropidurinae): Direct Optimization, Descriptive Efficiency, and Sensitivity Analysis of Congruence Between Molecular Data and Morphology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21 (3): 352–371 - get paper here
  • Gorzula, Stefan & Senaris, J. Celsa 1999. In: Contribution to the herpetofauna of the Venezuelan Guayana. I: a data base. Scientia Guaianae, Caracas, No. 8 [1998], 269+ pp.; ISBN 980-6020-48-0
  • Lindken T.; Anderson, C. V., Ariano-Sánchez, D., Barki, G., Biggs, C., Bowles, P., Chaitanya, R., Cronin, D. T., Jähnig, S. C., Jeschke, J. M., Kennerley, R. J., Lacher, T. E. Jr., Luedtke, J. A., Liu, C., Long, B., Mallon, D., Martin, G. M., Meiri, 2024. What factors influence the rediscovery of lost tetrapod species? Global Change Biology, 30: 1-18 - get paper here
  • Maegdefrau H. 1991. Plica nigra, ein neuer Leguan vom Guaiquinima Tepui (Venezuela) (Sauria, Iguanidae). Spixiana 14 (2): 229-234 - get paper here
  • Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here
  • RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here
 
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