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Gerrhonotus parvus KNIGHT & SCUDDAY, 1985

IUCN Red List - Gerrhonotus parvus - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaAnguidae (Gerrhonotinae), Diploglossa, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Pygmy Alligator Lizard
S: Lagarto Pigmeo 
SynonymGerrhonotus parvus KNIGHT & SCUDDAY 1985
Elgaria parva — SMITH 1986
Elgaria parva — GOOD 1988
Elgaria parva — LINER 1994
Gerrhonotus parvus — CONROY et al. 2005
Gerrhonotus parvus — BANDA-LEAL et al. 2018 
DistributionMexico (Nuevo León, Coahuila); elevation 1,600-1,650 m.

Type locality: 3 km SE Galeana, Nuevo León, Mexico.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: SRSU 5538. Female (Fig. 1), collected 21 March 1983, by R. Alec Knight. Paratype. SRSU 5537. Female (Fig. 2) collected 1 km S Galeana, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, 23 June 1977, by Kelvin Scott (Sul Ross State University). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: E. parva is distinguished from other species of the family Anguidae by the following characters: smooth dorsal scales, the rostral in contact with the nasals, a second primary temporal that is in contact with the fifth medial supraocular, suboculars separated from the lower primary temporal by an upper labial, and wide pale crossbands on the tail (after KNIGHT and SCUDDAY 185). 
CommentSmallest anguid species “reaching a total length of only 55-[...]76 mm SVL” (BRYSON & LAZCANO 2005). BRYSON & LAZCANO 2005 state that molecular studies (CONROY et al. 2005) confirm its generic allocation to Gerrhonotus.

Known from only 7 specimens (BRYSON & GRAHAM 2010)

Habitat: among the leaves of dead yuccas

Similar species: G. parvus resembles G. lugoi, while other aspects are more like those of G. kingi. Gerrhonotus lugoi and G. parvus both are small species. McCoy (170) suggested that the holotype and paratype of G. lugoi are juveniles, perhaps on the basis of their small size.

Distribution: see map in Blair et al. 2021. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “parvus, -a, -um” = small. 
References
  • Banda-Leal J, Lazcano D, Barriga-Vallejo C, Nevárez-de los Reyes M 2018. New records of Gerrhonotus parvus Knight & Scudday, 1985 (Squamata, Anguidae) in the state of Coahuila, México. Check List 14(3): 523-528 - get paper here
  • Banda-Leal, Javier, David Lazcano, Manuel Nevárez-de los Reyes, Carlos Barriga-Vallejo 2014. Gerrhonotus parvus Knight & Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae): New range extension and clutch size in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. Check List 10 (4): 950-953 - get paper here
  • Banda-Leal, Javier; Manuel Nevárez-de los Reyes, and Robert W. Bryson, Jr. 2017. A New Species of Pygmy Alligator Lizard (Squamata: Anguidae) from Nuevo León, México. Journal of Herpetology 51 (2): 223-226. - get paper here
  • Banda-Leal, Javier; Robert W. Bryson, Jr. and David Lazcano Villarreal 2002. New Record of Elgaria parva (Lacertilia: Anguidae) from Nuevo León, México. Southwestern Naturalist 47(4): 614-615 - get paper here
  • Blair, Christopher; Robert W Bryson, Uri O García-Vázquez, Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca, David Lazcano, John E Mccormack, John Klicka 2021. Phylogenomics of alligator lizards elucidate diversification patterns across the Mexican Transition Zone and support the recognition of a new genus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135 (1): 25–39 [print January 2022, online 25 November 2021] - get paper here
  • Bryson, R.W. & Lazcano, D. 2005. Gerrhonotus parvus. Reptilia (GB) (39): 69-72 - get paper here
  • Bryson, Robert W. and Matthew R. Graham. 2010. A new alligator lizard from northeastern Mexico. Herpetologica 66 (1): 92-98 - get paper here
  • Conroy, C.J.; Bryson Jr., R.W.; Lazcano, D. & Knight, A. 2005. Phylogenetic placement of the Pygmy Alligator Lizard based on mitochondrial DNA. Journal of Herpetology 39 (1): 142-147 - get paper here
  • García-Vázquez, Uri Omar; Arturo Contreras-Arquieta, Marysol Trujano-Ortega, and Adrián Nieto-Montes de Oca 2018. A New Species of Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico. Herpetologica 74 (3): 269-278. - get paper here
  • García‐Vázquez UO, Nieto‐Montes de Oca A, Bryson RW Jr, Schmidt‐Ballardo W, Pavón‐Vázquez CJ. 2018. Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the genus Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae). J Biogeogr. XX:1–13 - get paper here
  • Good, D.A. 1988. Phylogenetic relationships among gerrhonotine lizards; an analysis of external morphology. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 121: 139 pp. - get paper here
  • Hernández-Bocardo, S C & Lazcano, D; 2018. Gerrhonotus parvus (Pygmy Alligator Lizard) Agonistic behavior. Herpetological Review 49 (4): 698-700 - get paper here
  • Knight R A; Scudday J F 1985. A new Gerrhonotus (Lacertilia: Anguidae) from the Sierra Madre Oriental, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 30 (1): 89-94 - get paper here
  • Lazcano D, Nevárez-de los Reyes M, García-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, DeSantis DL, Wilson LD. 2019. The herpetofauna of Coahuila, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [General Section]: 31–94 (e189) - get paper here
  • Lazcano, D., and J. Banda-Leal. 2017. Comments on the biology of Gerrhonotus parvus (Reptilia: Squamata: Anguidae). Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(4): 926–929 - get paper here
  • Lazcano, D., J. Banda-Leal, and N. Alvarado-Moreno. 2017. Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985. Malformation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(3): 632–635 - get paper here
  • LAZCANO, DAVID; JAVIER BANDA-LEAL, HÉCTOR GADSDEN-ESPARZA, GAMALIEL CASTAÑEDA-GAYTÁN & SANDRA CECILIA HERNÁNDEZ-BOCARDO. 2022. Thermal ecology of the Pygmy Alligator Lizard, Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae), in Nuevo Léon, Mexico. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 16(1): 11. - get paper here
  • Nevárez-de-los-Reyes, Manuel, David Lazcano, Elí García-Padilla, Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson and Larry David Wilson. 2016. The Herpetofauna of Nuevo León, Mexico: Composition, Distribution, and Conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (3): 558–638 - get paper here
  • Smith, H. M. 1986. The generic allocation of two species of Mexican anguid lizards. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 22 (1): 21-22 - get paper here
 
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