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Psammodromus occidentalis FITZE, GONZALEZ-JIMENA, SAN-JOSE, SAN MAURO & ZARDOYA, 2012

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Higher TaxaLacertidae (Gallotiinae), Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Psammodromus 
SynonymPsammodromus occidentalis FITZE, GONZALEZ-JIMENA, SAN-JOSE, SAN MAURO & ZARDOYA 2012
Psammodromus occidentalis — SPEYBROECK et al. 2020 
DistributionW Spain, Portugal (P. Fitze, pers. comm.)

Type locality: Colmenar del Arroyo (Madrid, Spain, 40° 27’ 22.14’’N, 4° 10’ 28.36’’W)  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: MNCN/ ADN 34516, adult male captured on 24 October 2008 by Patrick S. Fitze and Virginia Gonzalez-Jimena 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Psammodromus occidentalis sp. n. shows 20–29 ventral scale rows, no supralabial scale below the subocular scale, 15–26 throat scales, 0– 3 collar scales, 9–15 femoral pores, a snout shape of 0.96–2.51, 0–5 ocelli, and a nuptial coloration score of 0–4. It can be distinguished from the edwardsianus lineage by the absence of a supralabial scale below the subocular scale, lower femoral pore numbers, more extended nuptial coloration, and slightly bigger snout shape values, and from the Central lineage (P. hispanicus) by bigger snout shape values, corresponding to a less pointed snout, higher number of femoral pores, and higher number of ocelli. Molecular differentiation based on mitochondrial and the nuclear datasets shows that P. occidentalis sp. n. is more distant from the edwardsianus and Central lineage than the later two from each other. Psammodromus occidentalis sp. n. can be easily distinguished from P. algirus by the smaller body size, a shorter tail length that rarely exceeds 2 x SVL (in adult individuals with intact tail: mean = 1.5 x ± 0.02; range = 0.7 – 2.4; P. algirus > 2 x SVL, Böhme 1981), absence of pterygoid teeth (Arnold 1989), presence of a gular fold and distinct collar scales, absence of imbricated and pointed ventral scales, and presence of two central ventral rows of clearly narrower scales compared to scales of adjoining rows. Psammodromus occidentalis sp. n. differs from P. blanci by a clearly present gular fold, absence of imbricate or rounded ventral scales, two nar- rower central ventral rows (compared to the adjoining ventral rows), by rarely existing solid lateral lines, and by a brown grayish dorsal ground color (Schleich et al. 1996). It differs from P. microdactylus by the presence of a gular fold, distinct collar scales, a brown grayish dorsal ground color, two dashed lateral lines, absence of pointed or rounded central ventral rows, presence of two narrower central ventral rows, and absence of greenish or dark olive dorsal ground color (Schleich et al. 1996) [from FITZE et al. 2012]. 
CommentThis species was previously considered as the western lineage of P. hispanicus (Fitze et al. 2011). 
EtymologyThe species epithet refers to the geographical distribution of this lizard. All described populations are located on the Western Iberian Peninsula. 
References
  • Fernández-Ortín, Daniel; Gregorio Sánchez-Montes, Íñigo Martínez-Solano 2019. A catalogue of reptiles of Monfragüe National Park (Spain), with molecular characterization of populations of Blanus WAGLER, 1830 in this protected area. Basic and Applied Herpetology - get paper here
  • Fitze, Patrick S.; Gonzalez-Jimena, V.; San-José, L.M.; San Mauro, D. & Zardoya, R. 2012. A new species of sand racer, Psammodromus (Squamata: Lacertidae), from the Western Iberian Peninsula. Zootaxa 3205: 41–52 - get paper here
  • GARCÍA-DÍEZ, TERESA; JOSÉ E. GONZÁLEZ-FERNÁNDEZ 2013. The reptile type specimens preserved in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC) of Madrid, Spain. Zootaxa 3619 (1): 046–058 - get paper here
  • Kwet, Axel & Benny Trapp 2014. Reptilien in Europa – eine aktuelle Übersicht. Draco 15 (60): 6-25 - get paper here
  • Kwet, Axel & Benny Trapp 2014. Liste der Reptilien Europas. Draco 15 (60): 72-79 - get paper here
  • Mendes, Joana; D. James Harris, Salvador Carranza and Daniele Salvi 2017. Biogeographical crossroad across the Pillars of Hercules: Evolutionary history of Psammodromus lizards in space and time. Journal of Biogeography, DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13100 - get paper here
  • Molina, C., Tamar, K., de la Vega, J. P. G., Burriel-Carranza, B., Fernandez-Guiberteau, D. and Carranza, S. 2020. New records on the distribution of the Spanish sand racer species (Squamata, Psammodromus) in Spain, Iberian Peninsula. Basic and Applied Herpetology 34: - get paper here
  • SANTOS, B. S., MARQUES, M. P., & CERÍACO, L. M. 2024. Lack of country-wide systematic herpetology collections in Portugal jeopardizes future research and conservation. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 96, e20230622 - get paper here
  • Speybroeck, Jeroen; Wouter Beukema, Christophe Dufresnes, Uwe Fritz, Daniel Jablonski, Petros Lymberakis, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Edoardo Razzetti, Melita Vamberger, Miguel Vences, Judit Vörös0, Pierre-André Crochet 2020. Species list of the European herpetofauna – 2020 update by the Taxonomic Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica.. Amphibia-Reptilia 41: 139-189 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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