Anolis leditzigorum (KÖHLER, VARGAS & LOTZKAT, 2014)
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Higher Taxa | Anolidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Norops leditzigorum KÖHLER, VARGAS & LOTZKAT 2014 Anolis leditzigorum — TARR et al. 2018 Norops leditzigorum — NICHOLSON et al. 2018 |
Distribution | Costa Rica (Puntarenas) Type locality: 4 km (on road) N Santa Elena, 10.34156°N, 84.80506°W, elev. 1,560 m asl, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: SMF 85538, adult male; collected by Gunther Köhler on 5 April 2006; original field number GK-1752. Paratypes: All collected by Gunther Köhler in Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica: SMF 85539, same col- lecting data as holotype; SMF 89319–20, UCR 20140–43, 2 km N Santa Elena, 10.34181°N, 84.80444°W, elev. 1,550 m, collected on 17 February 2007; SMF 85532, 85533 (KP209352), 85534–37, 2.3 km N Santa Elena, 10.33189°N, 84.81289°W, elev. 1,575 m, collected on 5 April 2006; SMF 99283, near entrance to Reserva Santa Elena, 10.34308°N, 84.79720°W, elev. 1,640 m, collected on 28 October 2011; SMF 99280–81 (KP209370–71), 99282, Santa Elena, Sunset Hotel, 10.34384°N, 84.80268°W, elev. 1,580 m, collected on 28 October 2011. UCR 20142, SMF 85532–33, 85539, 89319–20, 99280, and 99283 are adult males, the remaining paratypes are adult females. |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium-sized (maximum SVL 51.0 mm in males, 52.5 mm in females) species (our Species A of the Norops pachypus complex) of the genus Norops (sensu Nicholson et al. 2012), that is most similar in external morphology to N. alocomyos, N. benedikti, N. magnaphallus, N. pachypus, N. pseudopachypus, and N. tropidolepis. These six species and N. leditzigorum are differentiated from all other anoles by the presence of a combination of narrow toe pads, long legs (tip of the 4th toe of adpressed hind limb usually reaching a point anterior to the eye), a dark interorbital bar, a striking lateral head pattern of dark brown and cream lines radiating from the eye, usually at least the indication of a lyriform marking on the occipital region, keeled dorsal scales on head and body, smooth to weakly keeled ventral scales at midbody, and a lack of enlarged postcloacal scales in males. Norops leditzigorum can be distinguished from N. benedikti, N. pachypus, and N. pseudopachypus by the presence of a uniform purplish red male dewlap in life (vs. a male dewlap mostly orange yellow, or red with a yellow central blotch and/or yellow margin, at least anteriorly). Norops leditzigorum differs from N. alocomyos by a distinctive hemipenial morphology with short, bulky lobes (vs. very long lobes), a sulcus spermaticus opening at the base of the apex into two broad fields void of ornamentation (vs. a closed sulcus spermaticus on the apical branches), and no conical processus on sulcal side of the base of the truncus (vs. such a processus present). Norops leditzigorum differs from N. tropidolepis by the presence of a more distinctly bilobed hemipenis with two clearly distinct broad fields void of ornamentation at the base of the apex (vs. these two fields are less clearly separated, rather forming one large concave area) and by lacking a large asulcate cusp-like processus (vs. such a processus present). Furthermore, the dewlap of adult males of N. leditzigorum is purplish red, whereas that of N. tropidolepis is orange red. |
Comment | |
Etymology | The specific name is a patronym for the Leditzig family, Denmark, in recognition of the financial support of taxonomic research provided by Jørgen Leditzig through the BIOPAT initiative. |
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