Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus (COPE, 1868)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus?
Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus
Find more photos by Google images search: 
| Higher Taxa | Teiidae, Teiinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus chrysolaemus (COPE 1868) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus abbotti (NOBLE 1923) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus alacris (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus boekeri (MERTENS 1939) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus defensor (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus evulsa (SCHWARTZ 1973) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus ficta (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus jacta (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus procax (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus quadrijugis (SCHWARTZ 1968) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus regularis (FISCHER 1888) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus richardthomasi (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus secessa (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus woodi (COCHRAN 1934) |
| Common Names | E: Hispaniolan Giant Groundlizard, Common Ameiva |
| Synonym | Ameiva chrysolaema COPE 1868:127 Ameiva vittipunctata COPE 1871: 22 Cnemidophorus affinis FISCHER 1883: 1 Ameiva chrysolaema — BOULENGER 1885: 355 Ameiva chrysolaema — FISCHER 1888: 24 Ameiva vittipunctata — SCHMIDT 1921 Ameiva vittipunctata — SCHMIDT 1928 Ameiva chrysolaema chrysolaema — MERTENS 1938 Ameiva vittipunctata — MERTENS 1938 Ameiva chrysolaema leberi SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966: 459 Ameiva chrysolaema umbratilis SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva leberi — SCHWARTZ & THOMAS 1975: 59 Ameiva chrysolaema umbratilis — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 62 Ameiva chrysolaema umbratilis — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991 Ameiva leberi — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 194 Ameiva chrysolaema — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 186 Ameiva leberi — POWELL et al. 1999 Ameiva chrysolaema — HARVEY et al. 2012 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus — TUCKER et al. 2016 Ameiva umbratilis — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus abbotti NOBLE 1923 Ameiva abbotti NOBLE 1923: 1 Ameiva chrysolaema abbotti — BARBOUR 1937 Ameiva chrysolaema abbotti — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 60 Ameiva chrysolema [sic] abbotti — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 187 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema abbotti — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus alacris (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema alacris SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966: 440 Ameiva chrysolema [sic] alacris — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 187 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema alacris — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus boekeri MERTENS 1938 Ameiva chrysolaema boekeri MERTENS 1938: 338 Ameiva chrysolaema boekeri — BARBOUR & LOVERIDGE 1946 Ameiva chrysolaema boekeri — SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966: 440 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema boekeri — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus defensor (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema defensor SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema defensor — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema defensor — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus evulsa (SCHWARTZ 1973) Ameiva chrysolaema evulsa SCHWARTZ 1973: 101 Ameiva chrysolaema evulsa — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus ficta (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema ficta SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema ficta — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema ficta — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus jacta (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema jacta SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema jacta — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema jacta — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus parvoris (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema parvoris SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema parvoris — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema parvoris — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus procax (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema procax SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema procax — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema procax — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus quadrijugis (SCHWARTZ 1968) Ameiva chrysolaema quadrijugis SCHWARTZ 1968 Ameiva chrysolaema quadrijugis — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 62 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema quadrijugis — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus regularis (FISCHER 1888) Ameiva regularis FISCHER 1888: 26 Ameiva chrysolaema regularis — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 62 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema regularis — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus richardthomasi (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema richardthomasi SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966 Ameiva chrysolaema richardthomasi — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 62 Ameiva chrysolaema richardthomasi — POWELL & HENDERSON 2012 Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus secessa (SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966) Ameiva chrysolaema secessa SCHWARTZ & KLINIKOWSKI 1966: 467 Ameiva chrysolaema secessa — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1988: 61 Pholidoscelis chrysolaemus woodi (COCHRAN 1934) Ameiva chrysolaema woodi COCHRAN 1934: 181 Ameiva chrysolaema woodi — BARBOUR & LOVERIDGE 1946 Pholidoscelis chrysolaema woodi — GOICOECHEA et al. 2016 (by implication) |
| Distribution | Hispaniola, Isla Beata, Isla Saona, Isla Catalina, Cayos Siete Hermanos, Isla Cabras, Ile de la Gonave, Ile de la Tortue, Ile a Cabrit, Grosse Caye chrysolaema: Haiti, coast of Golfe de la Gonave from Diquini and Carrefour to Pont Sondé, and east through the Plaine de Cul de Sac to the Dominico-Haitian border; lIe à Cabrit. Type locality: "Ile de la Gonave"; restricted by Cochran, 1941, to within 25 mi. of Port-au-Prince, Département de l'Ouest, Haiti. abbotti: Isla Beata. Type locality: Isla Beata, Republica Dominicana. alacris: East-central Haiti through Valle de San Juan, República Dominicana; intergrades with A. ch. boekeri in Azua Province, and with A. ch. chrysolaema in vicinity of Mirebalais. Type locality: 10 km SE San Juan, San Juan Province, Republica Dominicana. boekeri: República Dominicana, extreme eastern Valle de Neiba, east to north of Azua and to Bani, where A. ch. boekeri intergrades with A. ch. procax.Type locality: South of Fondo Negro, lower Rio Yaque del Sur, Barahona Province, Republica Dominicana. defensor: Northwestern Haiti, south to Gros-Morne, Ennery, and Gonaïves; intergrades with A. ch. chrysolaema near Dessalines. Type locality: Môle St.-Nicholas, Département du Nord- Ouest, Haiti. evulsa: Haiti, Grosse Caye; perhaps also at Aquin and Cap St-Georges. Type locality: Grosse Caye, Departement du Sud, Haiti. ficta: República Dominicana, Peninsula de Barahona. Type locality: 13.1 mi. (20.8 km) SW Enriquillo, Pedernales Province, Republica Dominicana. jacta: República Dominicana, extreme east (Cabo Engaño region). Type locality: Juanillo, La Altagracia Province, Republica Dominicana leberi (invalid): Hispaniola (Haiti, Dominican Republic); Type locality: 5 km B Pedernales, Pedernales Province, República Dominicana. parvoris: República Dominicana, southeastern coast; perhaps the subspecies on Isla Catalina. Type locality: 0.9 mi. (1.4 km) E Boca Chica, Distrito Nacional, Republica Dominicana. procax: República Dominicana, south-central coast, into interior San Cristóbal Province. Type locality: Santo Domingo, 2.2 km SW Rio Ozama, Distrito Nacional, Republica Dominicana. quadrijugis: Haiti, proximal portion of the Tiburon Peninsula; intergrades with A. ch. chrysolaema at Gressier. Type locality: 4 mi. (6.4 km) SE Leogane, Departement de l'Ouest, Haiti. regularis: North-central Hispaniola, from Carosse in Haiti, east through Plaine du Nord, into Valle de Cibao in República Dominicana to Santiago; Cayos Siete Hermanos; Isla Cabras. Type locality: Sans Souci, Departement du Nord, Haiti. richardthomasi: Isla Saona. Type locality: Environs of Mano Juan, Isla Saona, Republica Dominicana. secessa: lie de la Gonave. Etroits, lIe de la Gonave, Haiti. umbratilis: República Dominicana, Valle de Neiba. Barahona, Barahona Province, Republica Dominicana, elevation up to 1700 ft (~ 550 m). Type locality: Barahona, Barahona Province, Republica Dominicana woodi: lle de la Tortue.Type locality: Ile de la Tortue, Haiti. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: USNM 12140, USNM 12142. Holotype: MCZ 77236 [leberi] Holotype: AMNH 24327 [abbotti] Holotype: MCZ 77232 [alacris] Holotype: SMF 25033 [boekeri] Holotype: MCZ 63379 [defensor] Holotype: USNM 189236 [evulsa] Holotype: MCZ 77237 [ficta] Holotype: MCZ 75267 [jacta] Holotype: MCZ 77234 [parvoris] Holotype: MCZ 77233 [procax] Holotype: MCZ 92046 [quadrijugis] Holotype: lost, formerly in ZMH, now destroyed [regularis] Holotype: MCZ 77235 [richardthomasi] Holotype: MCZ 77238 [secessa] Holotype: MCZ 77231 [umbratilis] Holotype: ANSP 12140 [vittipunctata] Holotype: MCZ 37583 [woodi] |
| Diagnosis | DESCRIPTION: Size large (SVL in males to 160 mm, in females to 131 mm); dorsal caudal scales keeled and straight; ventral scales 10-12 in a transverse row (strongly modally 12) and 33-41 in a longitudinal row; fourth toe subdigital scales 66-102 (combined counts for both fourth toes); femoral pores 24-52 (combined counts for both series); fifteenth caudal verticil with 30-52 scales. Dorsum variably patterned (by subspecies) with either: (a) a series of 4-7 longitudinal pale lines (at times with as many as 8-10 lines due to addition of pale lines in the primary interspaces), lines at times fused in various ways (including a faint reticulum in 1 subspecies), at times fragmented, some shade of yellow; (b) with pale blue to yellowish spots on a dark ground; or (c) more or less unicolor; dorsum varying from gray or gray-green to brown, tan, olive, or black; lateral fields dark gray to black, rather narrow, dotted with yellow to buffy dots, at times outlined above and below with paler border, or at times completely obliterated by dorsal color and pattern; sides often dotted or dark tigroid; venter whitish, pink, bluish to grayish, very pale orange, rust, or even black; throat and/or chest often with a black band; throat white, yellow, orange, dull pinkish gray, grayish orange, dull purplish, often with a black area; tail checkerboarded in some subspecies (Schwartz & Henderson 1991: 186). Diagnosis (quadrijugis). A subspecies of A. chrysolaema characterized by a combination of very large size (males to 156 mm, females to 127 mm snout-vent length), 12 (modally) to 14 transverse rows of ventrals, very high number of fourth toe subdigital scales, moderate number of femoral pores, high number of scales in the fifteenth tail verticil; dorsum drab brown, pattern consisting of a paramedian pair of yel low to yellow-green longitudinal stripes or lines and an additional line on each side bordering the lateral fields above (thus yielding four prominent dorsal lines), lateral fields darker brown with one (usually) or two longitudinal series of very small and inconspicuous yellowish dots, throat white, and without a black gular band (Schwartz 1968). Variation (quadrijugis). The series of 15 A. c. quadrijugis has the following counts: longitudinal ventrals 35-38 (mean 36.2); rows of transverse ventrals 12 (modally) to 14; fourth toe scales 89-97 (mean 93.1); femoral pores 37-43 (mean 40.2); fifteenth verticil 39-47 (mean 43.4)(Schwartz 1968). Comparisons (quadrijugis). No other subspecies of A. chrysolaema has a pattern comparable to that of quadrijugis. Several subspecies (chrysolaema, hoekeri, alacris, procax, secessa, defensor, woodi, regularis) are primarily lineate dorsally or include lined individuals in dichromatic or polychromatic populations. In no case, however, do these subspecies have individuals with only a single pair of distinct paramedian lines on a drab brown ground. A. c. woodi from He de la Tortue has from three to five dorsal lines but the pattern of that subspecies is quite different in many details from that of quadrijugis (Schwartz and Klinikowski, 1966). Compared with A. c. chrysolaema with which quadrijugis comes in contact, the latter subspecies is strikingly different; the nominate race characteristically has an elaborate and bright yellow pattern consisting of lines and dots, a black lateral field with included yel low dots, and a black gular band. No A. c. chrysolaema has four dorsal stripes as does quadrijugis. These two subspecies are virtu ally identical in size and stand first and second in this character of all the races of A. chrysolaema. Both also usually have 12 trans verse rows of ventrals, although the sample of quadrijugis includes two individuals with 13 rows and three with 14; no other subspecies has counts higher than 12 transverse rows. In mean number (36.2) of longitudinal rows of ventrals, quadri jugis lies below all other subspecies and in mean number (93.1) of fourth toe scales quadrijugis exceeds all other subspecies, being approached most closely by secessa (mean 91.0). A. c. quadrijugis has a moderate number (mean 40.2) of femoral pores and is ex ceeded in this character by ahhotti, chrysolaema, richardthomasi, secessa, jacta, leheri, woodi, and ficta (means 43.8 to 40.9). In scales in the fifteenth caudal verticil, quadrijugis (mean 43.4) ranks third among all the subspecies, being exceeded only by chrysolaema and alacris (means 44.0 and 44.4) (Schwartz 1968). |
| Comment | Illustrations: Fischer, 1883 (as Cnemidophorus affinis); Klingel, 1929; Mertens, 1939; Cochran, 1941; Schwartz and Klinikowski, 1966. Synonymy: Sequence analyses indicate that A. leberi of Hispaniola is a junior synonym of A. chrysolaema (HOWER & HEDGES 2003). A. leberi had its own NCBI taxID, 231593. Tucker et al. 2017 synonymized Pholidoscelis umbratilis with P. chrysolaemus. The type of Amiva vittipunctata Cope (ANSP 12140) and the type of Ameiva chrysolaema (USNM 12140) are identical as to the occipital plates and most other characters, and it is extremely probable that they are both from the same shipment from the same source and that they were both National Museum specimens cataloged under the same number before they were lent to Cope, who apparently separated them and described them three years apart as types of separate species and with different data (Cochran 1941: 276). |
| Etymology | Etymology not given by Cope, but probably named after Greek chryso (= “gold”) and laimos (= neck, throat) for the yellow throat (and belly). P. c. alacris is named after the Latin for "lively"; procax from the Latin for "bold"; parvoris from the Latin parvum (small) and os, oris (mouth), a translation of Boca Chica, the type locality; jacta from the Latin for "thrown," an allusion to the far flung distribution of this subspecies; richardthomasi is named after the collector, Richard Thomas; leberi is named after the collector David C. Leber; ficta from the Latin for "invented, devised" in allusion to resemblances to abbotti; secessa from the Latin for "distant, removed"; defensor for the Latin for "defender" in allusion to the English fort at Mole St. Nicholas which guarded the Windward Passage. |
| References |
|
| External links |