You are here » home › advanced search › Medopheos edracanthus

Medopheos edracanthus BOCOURT, 1874

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Medopheos edracanthus?

Add your own observation of
Medopheos edracanthus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaTeiidae, Teiinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bocourt's Ameiva 
SynonymAmeiva edracantha BOCOURT 1874
Cnemidophorus armatulus COPE 1875: 165
Verticaria hedracantha [sic] — COPE 1885: 172
Ameiva edracantha — BOULENGER 1885: 349
Ameiva edracantha — PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970: 21
Ameiva edracantha — LEHR et al. 2002
Medopheos edracanthus — HARVEY et al. 2012
Medopheos edracantha — CUADRADO et al. 2020 
DistributionEcuador, Peru (coastal areas; Ancash [HR 31: 52])

Type locality: see comment  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 4202 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Medopheos differs from all other Teiidae in having a cluster of 5–6 preanal spurs on either side of the vent in males. Unlike mainland Ameiva (characters in parentheses), Medopheos has ventrals in 8 longitudinal rows at midbody (10), large triangular scales on the dorsal surface of the brachium (granular), and three relatively large subequal scales at the heel (scales at heel small and numerous). Unlike Holcosus, Medopheos also has five parietals (three, except in the H. septemlineatus Group where the parietals are heavily and irregularly fractured), a rostral groove (absent except in H. niceforoi), homogeneous subdigital lamellae on the hands (subarticular lamellae swollen), and smooth distal lamellae of the fourth toe (sharply keeled). Medopheos lacks postanal plates and a dorsolateral row of serrated caudals (both present in Holcosus). 
CommentType species: Ameiva edracantha BOCOURT 1874 is the type species of the genus Medopheos HARVEY et al. 2012.

Synonymy that of PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970

Terra typica: Mexico [BOCOURT 1874; in error]

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek edra (έδρα), seat or base + Greek acanthos (ακανθα), thorn or spine. Therefore, edracantha literally translates to "thorn-seated" or "spine-seated." This likely refers to the distinctive preanal spurs present in males of this species. ["...Ëcailes préanales ltaérales épineuses..."]. 
References
  • Aguilar, César; Mikael Lundberg, Karen Siu-Ting y María Elena Jiménez 2007. Nuevos registros para la herpetofauna del departamento de Lima, descripción del renacuajo de Telmatobius rimac Schmidt, 1954 (Anura: Ceratophrydae) y una clave de los anfibios. Rev. peru. biol. 14(2): 209-216 - get paper here
  • Arteaga, A.; Bustamante, L.; Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador. Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping, 1073 pp. - get paper here
  • Bocourt,M.F. 1874. Deux notes sur quelques sauriens de l'Amérique tropicale. Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. Paris (5) 19 (4): 1-5 [1873] - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • CASTRO, FRANCIS P. & VÍCTOR R. MORALES 2012. Intraspecific ecological behavior in Ameiva edracantha Bocourt, 1874 (SQUAMATA, TEIIDAE) from Tumbes Reserve Zone, Peru. Herpetotropicos 8 (1-2): 55-60 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1875. Report on the Reptiles brought by Professor James Orton from the middle and upper Amazon and western Peru. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia N.S. (2) 8: 159-183 [sometimes thought to be published 1876 but see Murphy et al. 2007 for clarification] - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1885. Twelfth contribution to the herpetology of tropical America. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 22: 167-194 [1884] - get paper here
  • Cuadrado SS, Loor YA, Narváez AE 2020. Herpetofauna of Engabao, Playas Canton, Ecuador, with notes on the occurrence of Ceratoprhys stolzmanni (Steindachner, 1882). Check List 16(3): 665-674 - get paper here
  • HARVEY, MICHAEL B.; GABRIEL N. UGUETO & RONALD L. GUTBERLET, Jr. 2012. Review of Teiid Morphology with a Revised Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Teiidae (Lepidosauria: Squamata). Zootaxa 3459: 1–156 - get paper here
  • Koch, C. 2010. Geheimnisvolles Peru. Reptilia (Münster) 15 (82): 36-45 - get paper here
  • Lehr, E. 2002. Amphibien und Reptilien in Peru. Natur und Tier-Verlag (Münster), 208 pp. - get paper here
  • Lehr, E.; Köhler, G. & Streit, B. 2002. Die Herpetofauna von Mittelperu entlang eines Transektes von der pazifischen Küste bis in die Hochanden (Amphibia et Reptilia). Faun. Abh. Mus. Tierk. Dresden 22 (2): 361-392
  • MURPHY R. W., SMITH A. and NGO A. 2007. The versions of Cope's Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa Rica. Bibliotheca Herpetologica 7 (1): - get paper here
  • Salas, Antonio W. 1995. HERPETOFAUNA PERUANA: UNA VISION PANORAMICA SOBRE INVESTIGACION, CONSERVACION Y MANEJO. Biotempo 2: 125 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal, O. 2004. Herpetofauna of Isla de La Plata, Ecuador. Herpetological Review 35 (1): 85 - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator