Diploderma laeviventre (WANG, JIANG, SILER & CHE, 2016)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Diploderma laeviventre?
Diploderma laeviventre
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | English: Smooth-venter Mountain Dragon Chinese: Hua Fu Pan Xi, 滑腹龙蜥 |
| Synonym | Japalura laeviventris WANG, JIANG, SILER & CHE in WANG et al. 2016 Japalura flaviceps — POPE 1935: 467 Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO & JIANG 1977: 293-298 Japalura flaviceps — HU et al. 1987: 112 Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO et al. 1999: 111-115 Japalura flaviceps — LI et al. 2010: 115 Diploderma laeviventre — WANG et al. 2018 Diploderma laeviventris — SITTHIVONG et al. 2023 |
| Distribution | China (eastern Tibet = Xizang, Yunnan) Type locality: near the Nujiang Bridge in the upper Nujiang Valley at Baxoi (=Basu), Qamdo (=Changdu), eastern Tibet (=Xizang), PR China (30.10034° N, 97.22787° E, 2 739 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: KIZ 014038, adult male, collected by Ke JIANG on 3 July 2013. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Following Inger’s definition of the genus (Inger, 1960), the new species is assigned to the genus Japalura based on a number of diagnostic characters, including: (1) dorsal scales unequal in size; (2) enlarged crest scales present; (3) gular pouch present; (4) lateral fold of skin in axilla-groin region present; (5) supraciliary scales greatly imbricate; (6) head relatively long, flat; (7) tail long, slender; (8) tail cylindrical in shape; and (9) precloacal and femoral pores absent. Japalura laeviventris sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by the combination of the following suite of morpho- logical characteristics: (1) small adult body size (SVL 67-72 mm in males, 64-70 mm in females); (2) moderate TAL (TAL/SVL 168%-200%); (3) moderate HLL (HLL/SVL 64.3%-78.4%); (4) NSL 1; (5) T4S 22-26; (6) SOR 3; (7) strongly-protuberant, conical, post-tympanic scale absent; (8) strongly-protuberant, conical, post-rictal scale absent; (9) tympanum concealed; (10) nuchal crests relatively raised on weak skin folds; (11) dorsal crests weakly developed without distinct skin folds in males; (12) transverse gular fold present; (13) gular pouch distinct, present; (14) scales of ventral surface of body smooth or weakly keeled; (15) MD 57-59, (16) ground dorsal coloration off-white in males, brownish-gray in females; (17) dorsal, lateral, and ventral surface of head, dorsal forelimbs, and lateral surface of body speckled with black; (18) distinct radial streaks around eyes; (19) dorso- lateral stripes present, smooth-edged, pale-yellow in males; (20) dark-brown, “M”-shaped pigmentation patterns along dorsal midline in males; and (21) small, triangular, orange gular spots in adults of both sexes. Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3837 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). |
| Etymology | We derive the new species name from the Latin word “laeviventris, ” meaning “smooth venter, ” in reference to one of the major diagnostic characteristics of the new species: smooth or weakly keeled ventral body scales. |
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