Plestiodon tetragrammus BAIRD, 1859
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Plestiodon tetragrammus
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Plestiodon tetragrammus brevilineatus (COPE 1880) Plestiodon tetragrammus tetragrammus BAIRD 1859 |
| Common Names | E: Four-lined Skink E: Short-lined Skink [brevilineatus] E: Four-lined Skink [tetragrammus] S: Lincer de Cuatro Lineas |
| Synonym | Plestiodon tetragrammus BAIRD 1859: 256 Eumeces tetragrammus — COPE 1875: 45 Eumeces tetragrammus var. funebrosus COPE 1900: 661 Eumeces tetragrammus — TAYLOR 1936: 298 Eumeces tetragrammus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 165 Eumeces tetragrammus tetragrammus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 132 Eumeces tetragrammus — LINER 1994 Plestiodon tetragrammus — SCHMITZ et al. 2004 Eumeces tetragrammus brevilineatus COPE 1880 Eumeces brevilineatus COPE 1880: 18 Eumeces brevilineatus — TAYLOR 1936: 283 Eumeces brevilineatus — AXTELL 1939 Eumeces brevilineatus — TAYLOR 1943: 274 Eumeces brevilineatus — JAMESON & FLURY 1949 Eumeces brevilineatus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 164 Eumeces brevilineatus — ANDERSON 1962 Eumeces tetragrammus brevilineatus — LINER et al. 1977 Eumeces tetragrammus brevilineatus — TANNER 1987 Eumeces tetragrammus brevilineatus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 132 Plestiodon tetragrammus brevilineatus — COLLINS & TAGGART 2009 |
| Distribution | USA (Texas, Arizona [HR 30: 52]), Mexico (Chihuahua, S Zacatecas, NE Coahuila, N Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Quéretaro, Guanajuato, Hidalgo) brevilineatus: USA (Texas), Mexico (Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon), USA (S Texas). Type locality: Helotes, Bexar County, Texas. tetragrammus: Mexico (Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Nuevo Leon). USA (Texas). Type locality: “Lower Rio Grande”. Later indicated as “Matamoras, Mex.” by BAIRD (fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: USNM 3124; Syntype: INHS (= UIMNH) 40741 Lectotype: USNM 10159, designated by Taylor 1936, one of four cotypes; G. W. Marnock collector. [brevilineatus] |
| Diagnosis | Definition. A medium-sized species of Eumeces, with maximum adult size to 76 mm SVL and hatchlings typically 25-26 mm SVL. The scales around midbody are in 26 or 28 parallel rows, with 52-60 dorsal scales from occiput to above the vent. The scale lying medial to the postgenial scale is longer than wide, and 4 supraoculars and 7 upper labials are present. The other head scales are variable: the interparietal may be enclosed by the parietals or not, the prefrontals may be in contact or separated, the postlablials may be single or double, the postnasals present or absent, and the postmental divided or entire. Also present are 1-4 pairs of nuchal scales, 6- 9 supraciliaries, and 2-4 postsuboculars. The adult color pattern, if present, consists of a dark lateral band bordered above and below by a light line; these markings may terminate at the shoulder, midbody, or tail base. A dorsal median light line, if present, bifurcates on the nuchal scales and terminates anterior to the midbody. A dorsolateral light line occupies the third and fourth, or only the fourth, scale rows on the neck. A lateral light line passes through the auricular opening. Juveniles have blue tails distally and are much darker in overall color; the dorsum of hatchlings is as dark as the lateral bands. Secondary pattern loss is common in very large adults, but patternless morphs are known to occur in one subspecies (callicephalus). (Lieb 1990) Definition (tetragrammus). The dark lateral band, dorsolateral and lateral light lines are present throughout the length of the body; a dorsal median light line is absent; the interparietal is not enclosed by parietals; postnasals are usually absent; postlabials are usually double. (Lieb 1990) Definition (brevilineatus). The lateral body striping terminates anterior to midbody; the dorsal median light line and bifurcating mark on nuchals are absent in all but the westernmost populations; the interparietal is usually not enclosed by parietals; postnasals present or absent; postlabials are usually double. (Lieb 1990) |
| Comment | Distribution: Mesa de la Estacada, 4.3 km S, 8.5 km W Mineral El Realito (21º 33’ 43’’ N, 100º 18’ 59’’W; 1360 msnm), municipality of San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, México [Campos-Rodríguez et al. 2009]. Not in Sonora according to Enderson et al. 2009 and Lemos-Espinal et al. 2019. Not in Durango fide Lemos-Espinal (2018). Not in Sinaloa (Lemos-Espinal & Smith 2020). Genetics: P. multivirgatus acquired its mitochondrial genome from P. tetragrammus after their initial divergence (Moseley et al. 2015). |
| Etymology | According to Lieb (1990) and Lemos-Espinal and Smith (2007), the specific name was derived from the Greek words tetra, meaning "four" and gramme meaning "line," in reference to the four dorsal stripes (Lemos-Espinal & Dixon 2013). |
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