Diploderma flavilabre WANG, CHE & SILER, 2020
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Diploderma flavilabre
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| Higher Taxa | Agamidae (Draconinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Yellow-lipped Mountain Dragon Chinese: 黄唇龙蜥 (Pinyin: Huang Chun Long Xi) |
| Synonym | Diploderma flavilabre WANG, CHE & SILER in WANG et al. 2020: 242 Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO et al. 1999: 111 (part) Japalura flaviceps — ZHAO 2003: 84 (part) Diploderma flavilabris — SITTHIVONG et al. 2023 |
| Distribution | China (NW Sichuan: Baiyu County, E Tibet = Xizang: Markam County) Type locality: Yebatan, Gaiyu County, northwest Sichuan Province, China (98.9642° E, 30.7385° N, elevation 2,845 m, WGS 84). |
| Reproduction | Oviparous. All observed females, including ones that were collected, were gravid, suggesting June is during the breeding season of the species (Wang et al. 2021) |
| Types | Holotype: KIZ 032693, adult male collected on May 28, 2017 Paratypes: KIZ 032692, 032694, adult males; KIZ 032695–032699, KIZ 032730, adult females; all collected from the same locality as the holotype by Kai WANG and Gadeng NIMA. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species can be diagnosed from congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: (1) body size small, SVL 50.8–55.2 mm in males, 64.2–72.9 mm in females; (2) tail short, TAL 149.7%–179.3% SVL in males, 140.2%–152.2% in females; (3) head wide, HW 70.01%–73.0% HL, HD 68.6%–75.5% HW; (4) hind limb short, HLL 66.9%–74.8% SVL in males, 61.7%–63.9% in females; (5) tympanum concealed; (6) transverse gular fold present, deep; (7) MD 39–43; (8) F4S 13–16; (9) T4S 19–22; (10) post-rictal conical scales well-developed, 4–9; (11) nuchal and dorsal crest well-developed with strong skin folds in males only; (12) ventral head scales smooth or feebly keeled; (13) ventral body scales distinctively keeled; (14) inner lips Dark Spectrum Yellow (Color 78) in both sexes in life, distinct from background coloration of oral cavity; (15) background coloration of oral cavity Light Flesh Color (Color 250) in life; (16) palate and tonsils speckled heavily with Light Neutral Gray (Color 297) in both sexes in life; (17) gular spots present in both sexes, Pale Emerald Green (Color 141) to Light Turquoise Green (Color 146) in life; and (18) ventral body Pale Greenish Yellow (Color 86) in live males (Wang et al. 2021). Additional details (10633 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Conservation: The type locality of D. flavilabre is less than five km away from the biggest hydropower station in the upper Jinsha River, the Yebatan Hydropower Station, which was under active construction at the time of collection in 2017. Several habitat destructions were observed at the time, with explosions and drainage alterations. No lizards were found close to the construction site, and population density was much lower than any other new species described here. Furthermore, the recent major landslide and subsequent flooding in 2018 might have led to further massive habitat destructions and population decline of the new species. Because we did not find any D. flavilabre near Baiyu Township, which is approximately 60km linear distance north of the type locality of D. flavilabre, the potential distribution range of the new species is only less than 140km linear distance of low-elevation habitats along a single, isolated river valley, and the estimated extent of occurrence is less than 400 km2. Given the endemic nature and limited range, fragile ecosystem where the species inhabits, and several, continuous habitat destructions from both natural and anthropogenic causes, we propose to list the species as Vulnerable (VU) based on IUCN criteria D2. Publication date: The online publication time for the manuscript that describe the species (December 2020) is earlier than the publication time of the entire issue of the journal (January 2021), which is why the taxonomic authority is 2020 instead of 2021. |
| Etymology | The Latin species name, flavilabre, means “yellow-lipped,” which describes the diagnostic dark spectrum yellow coloration of inner lips of the species. |
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