You are here » home › advanced search › Lepidophyma flavimaculatum

Lepidophyma flavimaculatum DUMÉRIL, 1851

IUCN Red List - Lepidophyma flavimaculatum - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Lepidophyma flavimaculatum?

Add your own observation of
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaXantusiidae (Lepidophyminae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) 
SubspeciesLepidophyma flavimaculatum flavimaculatum A. DUMÉRIL 1851
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum ophiophthalmum TAYLOR 1955
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum tehuanae SMITH 1942
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum tenebrarum WALKER 1955 
Common NamesE: Yellow-spotted Night Lizard
G: Krokodilnachtechse 
SynonymLepidophyma flavimaculatum DUMÉRIL in DUMÉRIL & DUMÉRIL 1851: 138
Poriodogaster grayii A. SMITH in GRAY 1863: 154 (syn. fide BOCOURT 1876 et SAVAGE 1963)
Poriodogaster grayii A. SMITH in GRAY 1864: 104
Lepidophyma flavomaculatum DUMÉRIL & BOCOURT 1878: 306 (nom. subst.)
Lepidophyina flavomaculatum — BOULENGER 1885: 326
Lepidophyma flavomaculatum — GÜNTHER 1885: 30
Lepidophyma flavicmaculatum obscurum BARBOUR 1924
Lepidophyma flavimaculata flavimaculata — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 152
Lepidophyma obscurum — TAYLOR 1955: 554
Lepidophynia maculatum TAYLOR 1955: 549 (ex errore)
Lepidophyma anomalum TAYLOR 1955: 554
Lepidophyma ophiophthalmum TAYLOR 1955: 558
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum obscurum — WERMUTH 1965
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum obscurum — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 163
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum — LINER 1994
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum — KÖHLER 2000: 105
Lepidophyma flavimaculatum — MATA-SILVA et al. 2015

Lepidophyma flavimaculatum ophiophthalmum TAYLOR 1955
Lepidophyma ophiophthalmum TAYLOR 1955: 558 
DistributionSE Mexico (Tamaulipas, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama; elevation: 120-940 m

flavimaculatum: Atlantic slopes from S Veracruz to British Honduras. Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas. Terra typica restricta (H. M. SMITH & TAYLOR 1950): Río de la Pasión, Petén Province, Guatemala.

obscurum: Panama, Costa Rica; Type locality: Rio Chilibrillo, Panama.

tenebrarum: Tamaulipas; Type locality: Tamaulipas, ca. 8.1 km NW (by road) Gómez Farías, Sierra Madre Oriental, Rancho del Cielo, ca. 1097 m elevation.  
ReproductionSome populations of this species in Panama and Costa Rica seem to be parthenogenetic. However, in other populations there are males present (BEZY & CAMARILO 2002). This species also has diploid-triploid specimens (BEZY 1972). 
TypesType: BMNH 1946.8.30.44, MNHN 782
Holotype: UMMZ [tenebrarum]
Holotype: KU 36250, collected by EH Taylor in 1954. [ophiophthalmum]
Holotype: USNM 111488; H. M. Smith collector. [tehuanae]
Holotype: KU 36250, collected by EH Taylor in 1954. [ophiophthalmum] 
CommentSubspecies and synonymy partly after Wermuth 1965. Lepidophyma flavimaculatum reticulatum TAYLOR 1955 and Lepidophyma flavimaculatum lineri SMITH 1973 have been elevated to species status.

Distribution: Not listed for El Salvador by KÖHLER (2000). Not in Yucatan state (Mexico) according to GONZÁLEZ-SÁNCHEZ et al. 2017.

Relative abundance in Honduras: rare

Type species: Lepidophyma flavimaculatum DUMÉRIL in DUMÉRIL & DUMÉRIL 1851: 138 is the type species of the genus Lepidophyma DUMÉRIL 1851. 
EtymologyThe generic name is derived from Greek words lepis, meaning "scale" and phyma, meaning "tu- mor," in reference to the enlarged tubercles on the body.
The species has been named after Latin flavus = yellow and maculatum = spotted and refers to the dorsal color pattern. 
References
  • Barbour, Thomas 1924. Two noteworthy new lizards from Panama. Proc. New England zool. Club 9: 7-10
  • Bezy, Robert L. 1972. Karyotypic variation and evolution of the lizards in the family Xantusidae. Contributions in Science (227): 1-29
  • Bezy,R.L. 1984. Systematics of xantusiid lizards of the genus Lepidophyma in northeastern Mexico. Contr. Sci. (Los Angeles) 349: 1-16 - get paper here
  • Bezy,R.L. & Camarillo, J.L. 2002. SYSTEMATICS OF XANTUSIID LIZARDS OF THE GENUS LEPIDOPHYMA. Contributions in Science (493): 1–41 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • Brygoo, E. R. 1990. Les types d'Amphisbaenidés, Pygopodidés, Xantusiidés (Reptiles, Sauriens) du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - Catalogue critique. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. 12 (ser. 4) A (3-4), suppl.: 3-18
  • Campbell, J.A. 1998. Amphibians and reptiles of northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Belize. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, xiii + 380 pp. - get paper here
  • Casas-Andreu, G., F.R. Méndez-De la Cruz and X. Aguilar-Miguel. 2004. Anfibios y Reptiles; pp. 375–390, in A.J.M. García-Mendoza, J. Ordoñez and M. Briones-Salas (ed.). Biodiversidad de Oaxaca. Instituto de Biología, UNAM-Fondo Oaxaqueño para la Conservación de la Naturaleza-World Wildlife Fund, México, D. F.
  • Duellman, W. E. 1963. Amphibians and reptiles of the rainforest of Southern El Peten, Guatemala. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 15: 205-49. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C. & A. H. A. Duméril 1851. Catalogue méthodique de la collection des reptiles du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Gide et Baudry/Roret, Paris, 224 pp.
  • Goldberg, S.R. 2009. Reproduction in the Yellow-spotted night lizard, Lepidophyma flavimaculatum (Squamata, Xantusiidae), from Costa Rica. Phyllomedusa 8 (1): 59-62 - get paper here
  • González-Sánchez, V. H., J. D. Johnson, E. García-Padilla, V. Mata-Silva, D. L. DeSantis and L. D. Wilson. 2017. The Herpetofauna of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(2): 264–380 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1863. Descriptions of two new genera of lizards (Holaspis and Poriodogaster, A. SMITH, MS.). Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1863: 152-155 - get paper here
  • Gray,J.E. 1864. Description of two new genera of lizards (Holaspis and Poriodogaster, A. Smith, MS). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 13: 101-104 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. C. L. G. 1885. Reptilia and Batrachia. Biologia Centrali-Américana. Taylor, & Francis, London, 326 pp. [published in parts from 1885-1902; reprint by the SSAR 1987] - get paper here
  • Holmback E 1984. Parthenogenesis in the Central American night lizard Lepidophyma flavimaculatum at San Antonio Zoo. International Zoo Yearbook 23: 157-158. - get paper here
  • Johnson, Jerry D.; Vicente Mata-Silva, Elí García Padilla, and Larry David Wilson 2015. The Herpetofauna of Chiapas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (3): 272–329. - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • Lee, J. C. 2000. A field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the Maya world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Lee, J.C. 1996. The amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula. Comstock, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 500 pp.
  • Martin, Plul S. 1958. A biogeography of reptiles and amphibians in the Gomez Farias Region, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Miscellaneous publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (101): 1-102 + 7 plates - get paper here
  • Mata-Silva, Vicente, Jerry D. Johnson, Larry David Wilson and Elí García-Padilla. 2015. The herpetofauna of Oaxaca, Mexico: composition, physiographic distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (1): 6–62 - get paper here
  • McCOY, C. J., CENSKY, E. J., & VAN DE VENDER, R. R. 1986. Distribution records for amphibians and reptiles in Belize, Central America. Herpetological Review 17:28-29. - get paper here
  • McCranie, J. & Castañeda, F.E. 2005. The herpetofauna of Parque Nacional Pico Bonito, Honduras. Phyllomedusa 4 (1): 3-16 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2018. The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publication Series (2): 1- 666 - get paper here
  • Mora, José Manuel and Manuel Merchán 2002. Phylogeny and ecology of Lepidophyma flavimaculatum (Duméril, 1851). Reptilia (GB). (23): 53-59 - get paper here
  • Obando, L. A., and J. Sunyer. 2017. Lepidophyma flavimaculatum Duméril, 1851. Nicaragua, Boaco. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(3): 668–669 - get paper here
  • Ortleb, Edward; Heatwole, Harold 1965. Comments on some Panamanian lizards with a key to the species from Barro Colorado Island, C.Z. and vicinity. Carib. J. Sci. 5(3-4):141-147.
  • Peters, James A. & Donoso-Barros, Roberto 1970. Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: Part II. Lizards and Amphisbaenians. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 297: 293 pp. - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1874. [Extract from a letter relating to the locality of Poriodogaster grayii]. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1874: 307 - get paper here
  • Ramírez González, Cynthia Grisell; Ángel Edgar Lara Brenis, Teresa de Jesús Mijangos Arrazola 2014. New Distributional Records of Amphibians and Reptiles from Northern Oaxaca, México. Check List 10 (3): 679-681 - get paper here
  • Savage, J. M. 1963. 'Studies on the Lizard Family Xantusiidae IV. The Genera. Contributions in Science, Los Angeles County Museum (71): 1 - 38 - get paper here
  • Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. University of Chicago Press, 934 pp. [review in Copeia 2003 (1): 205]
  • Schlüter, U. 2009. Die Gelbgefleckte Krokodil-Nachtechse (Lepidophyma flavimaculatum) im Terrarium. Reptilia (Münster) 14 (80): 70-74 - get paper here
  • Schlüter, Uwe 1996. Höhlenkinder Krokodil-Nachtechsen. DATZ 49 (5): 286-287
  • Scott, N.J. 1976. The abundance and diversity of the herpetofaunas of tropical forest litter. Biotropica 8 (1): 41-58
  • Sinclair, Elizabeth A.; Rebecca Scholl; Robert L. Bezy; Keith A. Crandall and Jack W. Sites, Jr. 2006. Isolation and characterization of di- and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci in the yellow-spotted night lizard Lepidophyma flavimaculatum (Squamata: Xantusiidae). Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 233–236
  • Smith, Hobart M. & Taylor, Edward H. 1950. Type localities of Mexican reptiles and amphibians. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (8): 313-380 - get paper here
  • Solís, J. M., L. D. Wilson, and J. H. Townsend. 2014. An updated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with comments on their nomenclature. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1: 123–144 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1937. Some further notes on the amphibians and reptiles of the Peten Forest of Northern Guatemala. Copeia 1937 (1): 67-70 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1948. The amphibians and reptiles of Alta Verapaz Guatamala. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 69: 1-109 - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier 2014. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (2): 186–202. - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier, José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca and Milton Salazar-Saavedra. 2016. New departmental records for lizards in Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3(4): 1049–1054 - get paper here
  • Taylor, E. H. 1956. A review of the lizards of Costa Rica. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 38 (part 1): 3-322 - get paper here
  • Taylor,E.H. 1955. Additions to the known herpetological fauna of Costa Rica with comments on other species. No. II. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 37: 499-575. - get paper here
  • Telford, S. R.;Campbell, H. W. 1970. Ecological observations on an all female population of the lizard Lepidophyma flavimaculatum (Xantusiidae) in Panama. Copeia 1970 (2): 379-381 - get paper here
  • Townsend, J. H., L. D. Wilson, M. Medina-Flores, E. Aguilar-Urbina, B. K. Atkinson et al. 2012. A premontane hotspot for herpetological endemism on the windward side of Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texíguat, Honduras. Salamandra 48 (2): 92-114 - get paper here
  • Walker, Charles F. 1955. Two new lizards of the genus Lepidophyma from Tamaulipas. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (564): 1-10
  • Werler, J. E., & SHANNON, F. A. 1957. A new lizard of the genus Lepidophyma from Veracruz, México. Herpetologica 13: 119-122. - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator