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Leiolepis belliana (HARDWICKE & GRAY, 1827)

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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Leiolepididae or Leiolepidinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: (Beauty, Common) Butterfly Lizard
G: Prachtschmetterlingsagame 
SynonymUromastyx Belliana HARDWICKE & GRAY 1827: 220
Uromastix Belliana — HARDWICKE & GRAY 1835
Leiolepis bellii GRAY 1845
Liolepis bellii — CANTOR 1847
Liolepis belliana — BOULENGER 1890
Liolepis belliana — DE ROOIJ 1915: 135
Liolepis belliana — SWORDER 1933
Leiolepis belliana belliana — SMITH 1935: 238
Leiolepis belliana belliana — MERTENS 1961
Liolepis belliana — TAYLOR 1963: 905
Leiolepis belliana — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 285
Leiolepis belliana — COX et al. 1998: 105
Liolepis belliana — LIM & LIM 1999
Leiolepis belliana belliana — MANTHEY & SCHUSTER 1999: 81
Leiolepis cf. belliana — GRISMER et al. 2007
Leiolepis belliana — GRISMER & QUAH 2019 
DistributionThailand, Myanmar (= Burma), Laos ?, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Indonesia (Sumatra, Pulau Bangka),
Malaysia (Pulau Tioman, Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Besar)

Introduced to Florida (BOUNDY et al. 2012, Gibbons et al. 2009).

Type locality: Penang.  
Reproductionsexual; may be parthenogenetic (Cuellar & Kluge 1972, Hall 1970) 
TypesHolotype: unknown (fide NGUYEN et al. 2009) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: “Auf grauem oder olivfarbenem Grunde längsovale hellgelbliche Flecken mit schwarzer Umrandung; sie sind in Längsreihen angeordnet und können zu 3 Längsbändern (Jugendkleid) zusammenfließen. Flanken bei Männchen mit 7-9 orangeroten und schwarzblauen Querbändern. 7-13 (gewöhnlich 8-10) Schuppen quer um die Mitte auf der Unterseite der Tibia, 3-4 Dorsalschuppen entsprechen der Breite einer Bauchschuppe, 13-20 Femoralporen jederseits.” (Mertens 1961: 507).


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CommentDistribution: Has been erroneously (?) reported from India. A report from Pulau Tioman remains unconfirmed (fide HIEN et al. 2001; GRISMER et al. 2002).

Subspecies: Leiolepis belliana rubritaeniata MERTENS 1961 is now considered as a subspecies of L. reevesi or as valid species (BÖHME 2003). Despite Leiolepis ocellata being nested within L. belliana, Grismer et al. 2014 treat it as a valid species because L. ocellata is morphologically distinct from L. belliana, has a different karyotype, and is genetically exclusive in each dataset. Similarly, L. reevesii and L. belliana do not appear to be completely separated with multiple lineages, hence their status remains debatable (Grismer et al. 2014).

Karyotype: Leiolepis ocellata has 34 chromosomes while L. belliana has 36; However, the number does not appear to be completely clear. Some authors, namely Aranyavalai et al. 2004, found (2n = 36) in both L. ocellata und L. belllana (PAUWELS & CHIMSUNCHART 2007).

Hybridization: Leiolepis belliana can hybridize with L. reversii (JANČÚCHOVÁ-LÁSKOVÁ et al. 2015). 
EtymologyNamed after Thomas Bell (1792-1880), a British naturalist and dental surgeon who worked at Guy's Hospital, London (1816-1860). He became Professor of Zoology at King's College (1834) and described many ofthe reptiles Darwin collected. He was a friend ofGray and President of the Linnean Society (Beolens et al. 2011).  
References
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