Liolaemus warjantay UBALDE-MAMANI, GUTIÉRREZ, CHAPARRO, AGUILAR-KIRIGIN, CERDEÑA, HUANCA-MAMANI, CÁRDENAS-NINASIVINCHA, LAZO-RIVERA & ABDALA, 2021
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Liolaemus warjantay
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| Higher Taxa | Liolaemidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Liolaemus warjantay UBALDE-MAMANI, GUTIÉRREZ, CHAPARRO, AGUILAR-KIRIGIN, CERDEÑA, HUANCA-MAMANI, CÁRDENAS-NINASIVINCHA, LAZO-RIVERA & ABDALA 2021 Liolaemus aff. qalaywa – HUAMANÍ-VALDERRAMA et al. 2020 Liolaemus aff. qalaywa – QUIROZ et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | Peru (Pampamarca, Department of Arequipa, Peru; at elevations between 4,500–4,529 m asl) Type locality: 6.4 km NE of Pampamarca, District of Pampamarca, Province of La Unión, Department of Arequipa, Peru (15°5’41.24”S, 72°57’7.06”W) at 4,529 m |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MUSA 5700, adult male, collected by M. Ubalde and L. Arapa, on 20 December 2019. Paratypes (n = 12): MUSA 5691–96, MUSA 5698–99, MUSA 5701–02, MUBI 17683–4. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: “We assign Liolaemus warjantay sp. nov. to the L. montanus group because it presents a blade-like process on the tibia, associated with the hypertrophy of the tibial muscle tibialis anterior (Etheridge 1995; Abdala et al. 2020) and based on molecular (Fig. 6) and morphological evidence. The species of the L. montanus group differ from those of the L. boulengeri group by the complete absence of patches of enlarged scales in the posterior part of the thigh (Abdala 2007). Compared to the species of the L. montanus group, Liolaemus warjantay sp. nov. is a robust lizard differing by its larger size (max SVL = 89.56 mm) from Liolaemus andinus, L. anqapuka, L. audituvelatus, L. balagueri, L. cazianiae, L. chiribaya, L. duellmani, L. eleodori, L. erroneus, L. etheridgei, L. evaristoi, L. fabiani, L. famatinae, L. fittkaui, L. foxi, L. gracielae, L. griseus, L. hajeki, L. halonastes, L. huacahuasicus, L. insolitus, L. montanus, L. multicolor, L. nazca, L. omorfi, L. orko, L. ortizi, L. pantherinus, L. poconchilensis, L. poecilochromus, L. porosus, L. pulcherrimus, L. reichei, L. robertoi, L. rosenmanni, L. ruibali, L. schmidti, L. stolzmanni, L. tajzara, L. thomasi, L. torresi, L. vallecurensis, L. williamsi, and L. yarabamba (all with SVL between 50–80 mm). The presence of imbricate dorsal scales with keels differentiates L. warjantay sp. nov. from species with smooth juxtaposed or sub-imbricate scales, such as Liolaemus andinus, L. audituvelatus, L. balagueri, L. cazianiae, L. chiribaya, L. eleodori, L. fabiani, L. foxi, L. gracielae, L. halonastes, L. insolitus, L. jamesi, L. nigriceps, L. omorfi, L. patriciaiturrae, L. pleopholis, L. poconchilensis, L. poecilochromus, L. porosus, L. reichei, L. robertoi, L. robustus, L. rosenmanni, L. ruibali, L. schmidti, L. scrocchii, L. torresi, L. vallecurensis, L. victormoralesii, and L. vulcanus. The new species differs from Liolaemus chiribaya, L. evaristoi, L. etheridgei, L. insolitus, L. multicolor, L. omorfi, L. poconchilensis, L. pulcherrimus, L. robertoi, L. ruibali, and L. schmidti, by the absence of sky blue or light blue scales on the sides and dorsum of the body and tail. The number of scales around midbody in L. warjantay sp. nov. varies between 55–64 (mean = 60.3), which differentiates it from several species of the group with more than 65 scales, such as L. andinus, L. audituvelatus, L. cazianiae, L. duellmani, L. eleodori, L. erroneus, L. forsteri, L. foxi, L. gracielae, L. halonastes, L. inti, L. multicolor, L. nigriceps, L. patriciaiturrae, L. pleopholis, L. poecilochromus, L. porosus, L. pulcherrimus, L. robertoi, L. rosenmanni, L. ruibali, L. schmidti, L. multiformis, and L. vallecurensis. The number of ventral scales between the mental scale and the border of the vent in L. warjantay sp. nov. varies between 72–85 (mean = 78.2), and is lower than the number in the following species (with more than 90 ventral scales): L. andinus, L. cazianiae, L. erroneus, L. foxi, L. gracielae, L. halonastes, L. inti, L. multicolor, L. nigriceps, L. pachecoi, L. patriciaiturrae, L. pleopholis, L. poecilochromus, L. porosus, L. robertoi, L. rosenmanni, L. torresi, and L. vallecurensis; and higher than the number in the following species (with less than 70 ventral scales): L. dorbignyi, L. fittkaui, L. melanogaster, L. polystictus, and L. thomasi. The number of dorsal scales of L. warjantay sp. nov. varies between 45–63 (mean = 52.8), while the species with more than 70 scales are L. andinus, L. audituvelatus, L. cazianiae, L. duellmani, L. eleodori, L. erroneous, L. fabiani, L. famatinae, L. forsteri, L. foxi, L. gracielae, L. halonastes, L. multicolor, L. nigriceps, L. orko, L. patriciaiturrae, L. pleophlolis, L. poecilochromus, L. porosus, L. pulcherrimus, L. robertoi, L. rosenmanni, L. ruibali, L. schmidti, L. torresi, and L. vallecurensis; and the species with less than 45 dorsal scales are L. jamesi and L. pachecoi. and in greater quantity as in L. aymararum, L. cazianiae, L. chiribaya, L. chlorostictus, L. dorbignyi, L. eleodori, L. erroneus, L. etheridgei, L. fabiani, L. famatinae, L. griseus, L. hajeki, L. huayra, L. huacahuasicus, L. inti, L. jamesi, L. montanus, L. nazca, L. nigriceps, L. orko, L. pachecoi, L. pantherinus, L. patriciaiturrae, L. porosus, L. pulcherrimus, L. qalaywa, L. scrocchii, L. multiformis, and L. vulcanus. The color pattern clearly differentiates the new species from Liolaemus yauri, mainly the dorsal color of the head in both sexes of L. warjantay sp. nov. is dark grey and always darker than body, while in L. yauri the coloration is lighter and not in contrast with the body color; the color of the palpebral scales in females of L. warjantay sp. nov. is pale yellow, and in L. yauri is chestnut or grey; the shapes of the paravertebral spots in both sexes of L. warjantay sp. nov. are in the form of thin transversal lines and curved posteriorly (ocelli-shaped), while in L. yauri they are circular rhomboid or sub-quadrangular. (Ubalde-Mamani et al. 2021) |
| Comment | Similar species: L. qalaywa (Ubalde-Mamani et al. 2021) |
| Etymology | The specific name in the Quechua language (“warjantay”) refers to the local name in Reserva Paisajística Subcuenca del Cotahuasi and its surroundings assigned to the high Andean lizards of the genus Liolaemus. |
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