Gerrhonotus occidentalis NIETO-MONTES DE OCA, WIENS & GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ, 2025
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Gerrhonotus occidentalis
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| Higher Taxa | Anguidae (Gerrhonotinae), Diploglossa, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Gerrhonotus occidentalis NIETO-MONTES DE OCA, WIENS & GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ 2025 |
| Distribution | Mexico (Jalisco) Type locality: Jalisco, Sierra de Manantlán, Puerto Los Mazos (near the microwave tower), 19.6883333°N, –104.3952778°W, 2500 m elevation, datum = WGS84. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MZFC-HE 8428, adult male, field number FSLG 1). Pine-oak forest. Collected by Javier Lo ́pez at approximately 1600 h on 6 December 1995. Paratypes (Figs. 6, 7). Eighteen; one from Jalisco: Chamela (MZFC-HE 32964); two from Michoaca ́n: one from the Municipality of Chinicuila, near Puerto del Caima ́n, 18.67745°N, 103.40713°W, 1340 m (MZFC-HE 14110); and one from El Taguazal, approximately 25 km by road from Arteaga to Playa Azul, 18.23392°N, 102.24733°W, 757 m (MZFC-HE 32965). Nine from Colima: one from ‘‘Km 1.5 camino al Terrero,’’ 19.42917°N, 103.94056°W, 1110 m (MZFC-HE 8038); one from approximately 1.4–2.4 km E La Central, 19.14900°N, 104.42647°W, 44 m (MZFC-HE 32963); three from the Municipality of Minatitla ́ n, Mina Pen ̃ a Colorada: 19.35978°N, 104.07547°W, 826 m (MZFZ 4948–4949) and 19.35853°N, 104.07823°W, 747 m (MZFZ 5018); and four from the Municipality of Minatitlan, Cerro Moreno, 19.35793°N, 104.11960°W, 938 m (MZFZ 4950–4953). Six from Guerrero: three from the Municipality of Atoyac de A ́ lvarez, La Florida, 17.21944°N, 100.36889°W, 810 m (MZFZ 4957–4959); and three from Puerto El Eden, 17.46835°N, 100.74510°W (MZFZ 4954–4956). Referred specimens. COLIMA: vicinity of Colima (Museum of Vertebrate Zoology [MVZ] 197549; Good 1994); JALISCO: 40 miles north of Highway 80 on Highway 200 (CM 65825; Good 1994); 53 km NW (by Mexico Highway 200) of junction with Mexico Highway 80 (MVZ 205566; Good 1994); NAYARIT: Compostela, Mesillas (ISZ 665) (Garc ́ıa Va ́zquez et al. 2018a). The ISZ number is a field number for a specimen pending cataloguing in the MZFC-HE.er for a specimen pending cataloguing in the MZFC-HE. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. This diagnosis is based on all specimens of the type series, excluding MZFZ 4956 (n = 18), and relevant literature (Good 1994; Garc ́ıa-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b, and other sources cited therein). Gerrhonotus occidentalis may be distinguished from G. farri, G. parvus, and G. rhombifer by having keeled dorsal scales (dorsal scales smooth in the latter species; Garcı ́a-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b), and from G. infernalis by having three scales in the canthal/loreal series (one canthal, one loreal, and one cantholoreal) and usually (in 94% of the specimens) prominent dark vertical bars on the lateral fold. In G. infernalis there are usually 4–5 scales in the canthal/loreal series (2 canthals and 2–3 loreals) and no dark vertical bars on the lateral fold (Good 1994; Garc ́ıa-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b). Gerrhonotus occidentalis differs from G. mccoyi by usually having (in 94% of the specimens) prominent dark vertical bars on the lateral fold (dark vertical bars on the lateral fold usually absent in G. mccoyi; Good 1994; Garcı ́a-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b), and by lacking a dark mark extending from the temporal to the preocular or cantholoreal scales (present in G. mccoyi; Garcı ́a-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b). Gerrhonotus occidentalis may be distinguished from G. ophiurus by having one canthal, one loreal, and one cantholoreal in the canthal/ loreal series and a single preocular, whereas G. ophiurus usually has 2 canthals and 2–3 loreals and the preocular usually divided (in 92% and 75% of the specimens [n = 8], respectively; Good 1994). It also differs by lacking a dark mark extending from the temporal to the preocular or cantholoreal scales (present in G. ophiurus; Garcı ́a-Va ́zquez et al. 2018b). Gerrhonotus occidentalis differs from G. liocephalus by having (on average) more lamellae under the fourth toe (15–20, mean = 17.6, n = 18; vs. 12–17, mean = 14.3, n = 25 in G. liocephalus). Gerrhonotus occidentalis also has more combined supralabials than G. liocephalus (23–27, mean = 24.8, n = 18; vs. 22–26, mean = 22.8, n = 25, in G. liocephalus specimens examined here; also, mean , 23, n = 110, in specimens of G. liocephalus examined by Good 1994). Finally, G. occidentalis also differs from G. liocephalus in lacking a dark, irregular line at the junction between the anteriormost temporals and supralabials (present in G. liocephalus). (Nieto-Montes de Oca et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 15382 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Latin ‘‘occidentalis,’’ meaning of the west, pertaining to, or characteristic of the western regions of the earth (Brown 1956). This refers to the geographic distribution of the new species in western Mexico. This species has been previously referred to as ‘‘G. ‘western’’’ (García-Vázquez et al. 2018a), ‘‘G. cf. liocephalus from western Mexico’’ (García-Vázquez et al. 2018b), and ‘‘G. sp. ‘western’’’ (Blair et al. 2022). |
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