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Xantusia bezyi PAPENFUSS, MACEY & SCHULTE, 2001

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Higher TaxaXantusiidae (Xantusiinae), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bezy's Night Lizard 
SynonymXantusia bezyi PAPENFUSS, MACEY & SCHULTE 2001
Xantusia bezyi —LEAVITT et al. 2007 
DistributionUSA (Arizona)

Type locality: 5.6 km S (by Highway 87) of Sunflower, elevation 948 m., Maricopa county, Arizona, USA (33°49.48’ N, 111° 28.55’ W).  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: MVZ 232604, adult male 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A moderately large (to about 58 mm snout-vent length) species of Xantusia that is similar in size and morphology to X. arizonae. It differs from the latter in allozymes, mitochondrial DNA, and color pattern. The dorsal blotches of adults (Fig. 2) are more similar to the pattern in X. henshawi (Fig. 3) than to the pattern in X. arizonae (Fig. 4). The individual large dark dorsal blotches contain 3-28 granular scales versus 4-12 in X. arizonae (Fig. 5) and there is a proportionally greater distance from the anterior margin of the eye to the tip of the snout (Fig 6). The new species differs from X. vigilis by its larger size, mottled coloration, more than 41 rows of dorsal granular scales and more than 26 lamellae under the fourth toe. It differs from X. bolsonae, X. riversiana, and X. henshawi in having 12 longitudinal rows of ventral scales rather than 14-16 rows. These characters are in addition to substantial differences in allozymes and mitochondrial DNA. (Papenfuss et al. 2001)


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CommentColor pattern very similar to X. henshawi. The population named X. bezyi by PAPENFUSS et al. had been described previously as a population of X. arizonae (BEZY & SITES 1987).

Habitat/Ecomorph: rock-crevice 
EtymologyNamed in honour of Robert L. Bezy, in recognition of this lifelong studies on lizards of the family Xantusiidae. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bezy, R L 2019. Night Lizards. Field Memoirs and a Summary of the Xantusiidae. ECO Herpetological Publishing and Distribution, Rodeo, New Mexico, ii + 220 pp. [review in HR 51 (3): 636] - get paper here
  • Bezy, R.L. 2005. The Night Lizards (Xantusia) of Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 18 (2):14-19. - get paper here
  • Bezy, Robert L. and Charles J. Cole 2014. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Madrean Archipelago of Arizona and New Mexico. American Museum Novitates (3810): 1-24 - get paper here
  • Bezy, Robert L.; Dean H. Leavitt, Michael D. Robinson, and Kathryn Bolles 2020. Biogeography of Night Lizards (Xantusia) in Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 33 (2): 28-40
  • Bezy,R.L. & SItes, J.W. 1987. A preliminary study of allozyme evolution in the lizard family Xantusiidae. Herpetologica 43: 281-289 - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • Goldberg, Stephen R. and Robert L. Bezy. 2014. Xantusia bezyi (Bezy's night lizard) reproduction. Herpetological Review 45 (3): 509 - get paper here
  • Jones, L.L. & Lovich, R.E. 2009. Lizards of the American Southwest. A photographic field guide. Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, AZ, 568 pp. [review in Reptilia 86: 84] - get paper here
  • LEAVITT, DEAN H.; ROBERT L. BEZY, KEITH A. CRANDALL and JACK W. SITES JR 2007. Multi-locus DNA sequence data reveal a history of deep cryptic vicariance and habitat-driven convergence in the desert night lizard Xantusia vigilis species complex (Squamata: Xantusiidae). Molecular Ecology 16: 4455–4481 - get paper here
  • Noonan, Brice P.; Jennifer B. Pramuk, Robert L. Bezy, Elizabeth A. Sinclair, Kevin de Queiroz, Jack W. Sites Jr. 2013. Phylogenetic relationships within the lizard clade Xantusiidae: Using trees and divergence times to address evolutionary questions at multiple levels. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 69, Issue 1, October 2013, Pages 109–122 - get paper here
  • Papenfuss, T. J., Macey, J.R. & Schulte II, J.A. 2001. A new lizard in the genus Xantusia from Arizona. Scientific Papers of the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas (23): 1-9
  • Pilliod, D., Jeffries, M., Arkle, R. and Olson, D. 2024. Climate Futures for Lizards and Snakes in Western North America May Result in New Species Management Issues. Ecol Evol, 14: e70379 - get paper here
 
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