Holcosus septemlineatus (DUMÉRIL, 1851)
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Holcosus septemlineatus
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| Higher Taxa | Teiidae, Teiinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Seven-lined Ameiva S: Lagartija terrestre de cola azul |
| Synonym | Ameiva Septemlineata DUMÉRIL 1851: 114 Ameiva sex-scutata GÜNTHER 1859 Holcosus septemlineatus — COPE 1862: 60 Holcosus sexscutatus — COPE 1862: 60 Ameiva septemlineata — BOULENGER 1885: 346 Ameiva septemlineata — PETERS 1964 Ameiva septemlineata — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 23 Ameiva septemlineata — CARRERA et al. 2009 Holcosus septemlineatus — HARVEY et al. 2012 |
| Distribution | Ecuador (lowlands from Guayaquil north), Colombia [Castro,F. (pers. comm.)] Type locality: South America |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 4198 Specimens examined (by Peters 1964, all from Ecuador): Chimborazo Prov.: Chilicoy-JAP 2578, 2 km. south of Pallatanga-JAP 3503. Esmeraldas Prov.: Hacienda Equinox, 30 km. NNW (airline) from Santo Domingo de los Colorados-JAP 1755-60, 1762-65, 1799-1802, 1805-06, 1853, 1894-96, 1911-14, 1919. El Oro Prov.: 7 km. SSE of Machala-JAP 3577-79. Guayas Prov.: Bucay-EPN 1051-58, Headwaters of Rio Congo-EPN 1048-49, Milagro-JAP 2529. Los Ríos Prov.: Quevedo- EPN 1034-36, 1044. Pichincha Prov.: Santo Domingo de los Colorados-EPN 389-95, 408-10, immediate environs of Santo Domingo de los Colorados (# 6 km. east-JAP 3960, MSU 1384-86, 1388-89, 1391-92, 15 km. east-JAP 4108, 18 km. west -JAP 4028-33). Hacienda Lelia-EPN 412-13. Puerto Ila-EPN 414-15. Río Caoni-EPN 1068. Río Toachi-EPN 1045-47, 1064-66. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Holcosus could only be confused with species of Ameiva and Aspidoscelis. Unlike Ameiva (characters in parentheses), species of Holcosus have a denticulate dorsolateral row of caudals (dorsolateral caudals like adjacent scales, laterally projecting mucrons absent), subarticular lamellae of hands distinctly enlarged and swollen (homogeneous), two or three large scales at the heel (scales at heel small and numerous), ventrals abruptly transitioning to scales on flanks (gradually decreasing in size in most species), and scales on flank “bristly” due to presence of large apical granules or outwardly projecting scales (not “bristly,” apical granules small). The species of Holcosus also usually have six supraoculars (eight). Unlike Aspidoscelis, Holcosus has a tongue retractile into a basal sheath (sheath absent), heterogeneous subdigital lamellae (homogeneous, although basal lamellae are enlarged in some species), denticulate dorsolateral row of caudals (dorsolateral caudals like adjacent scales, laterally projecting mucrons absent), and the nasal suture passing through the nostril (nostril anterior to but in contact with nasal suture). 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 3686 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy mostly that of PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970. Type species: Ameiva septemlineata Duméril is the type species of the genus Holcosus COPE 1862. Group: the Holcosus septemlineatus group contains H. anomalus, Holcosus bridgesii, and Holcosus septemlineatus (fide Harvey et al. 2012). Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. |
| Etymology | Apparently named after Latin septem = seven, and linea = lines, for the 7 dorsal lines in the species. The genus may have been named after the Latin noun holcus (or Greek holkos), meaning a kind of grain. The genus name may be a reference to the many cephalic shields that have fragmented into numerous small and, therefore, grain-like keeled scales in the type species H. septemlineatus. Holcosus is a masculine noun in the nominative singular. Cope (1862) did not discuss the derivation of Holcosus. |
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