Plestiodon dicei (RUTHVEN & GAIGE, 1933)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Plestiodon dicei?
Plestiodon dicei
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Dice's Short-nosed Skink S: Alicante de Cola Azul |
| Synonym | Eumeces dicei RUTHVEN & GAIGE 1933 Eumeces dicei — TAYLOR 1936: 482 Eumeces dicei — TAYLOR 1943: 280 Eumeces dicei — MARTIN 1958 Eumeces brevirostris dicei — DIXON 1969: 16 Eumeces brevirostris dicei — KLUGE 1984 Plestiodon brevirostris dicei — LINER 2007 Plestiodon dicei — FERIA-ORTIZ et al. 2011 Plestiodon dicei — FERIA-ORTIZ & GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ 2012 Plestiodon dicei — BRANDLEY et al. 2012 |
| Distribution | Mexico (Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí) Type locality: Marmolejo, Tamaulipas. |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Holotype: UMMZ 69253 |
| Diagnosis | Description: “They all have 22 scale rows, four middorsal enlarged; primary temporal missing (fused with upper secondary); legs not meeting when appressed (almost meeting in the small blue-tailed Durango specimen); six dorsal scale rows are light in color; at edge of this a light line from eye to midbody; a lateral dark band covering two scale rows; 12 rows on belly light; two nuchals; one postmental; no postnasal; prefrontals in contact in two of the Cieneguillas specimens, separated in the rest; four supraoculars. The scales back of the seventh labial and the very large combined temporal are quite variable. The eighth upper labial is a small splint-like scale in the Durango specimen and in two of the Cieneguillas specimens; in one of the Cieneguillas specimens and in the Pablillo specimen it is smaller and scarcely projects beyond the seventh (in the latter it is scarcely to be distinguished from a lobule of the ear). In the Durango specimen a scale similar to the eighth labial intervenes between it and the secondary temporal; in one of the Cieneguillas specimens a scale similar to the secondary temporal, but smaller, intervenes between it and the eighth labial; in the other three the secondary temporal and the eighth labial are in contact. A tertiary temporal is between the nuchal and the secondary temporal except on the left side of one of the Cieneguillas specimens, on which the two latter are in contact. This tertiary temporal is in contact with the scale above and paralleling the eighth labial, and is strap-like in form in the Durango specimen; in the others the tertiary temporal is much the same shape as the secondary, and does not extend so far ventrally.” (Dunn 1936: 476). |
| Comment | Subspecies: FERIA-ORTIZ et al. 2011 provide evidence that P. b. brevirostris, P. b. bilineatus, P. b. dicei, and the eastern populations of P. b indubitus (from Morelos, Guerrero, and México) represent distinct species, whereas the western populations of P. b. indubitus (from Colima and Jalisco) represent an undescribed species. The data cannot resolve whether P. b. pineus is conspecific with P. b. dicei or P. b. dicei is a paraphyletic ( = nonexclusive) species relative to an exclusive P. b. pineus. Thus, the status of P. b. pineus remains uncertain. The haplotype phylogeny also suggests that P. b. brevirostris may represent more than one species. BRANDLEY et al. (2012) showed that bilineatus, dicei, and indubitus are paraphyletic with respect to other species and thus need to be split up. |
| Etymology | Named in honor of Dr. Lee R. Dice whom collected the holotype. |
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