Oreosaurus luctuosus (PETERS, 1863)
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Oreosaurus luctuosus
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| Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Cercosaurinae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Lightbulb Lizard |
| Synonym | Ecpleopus (Oreosaurus) luctuosus PETERS 1863: 203 Proctoporus luctuosus — TEST et al. 1966 Proctoporus luctuosus — BAUER et al. 1995: 57 Proctoporus luctuosus — DOAN & SCHARGEL 2003 Riama luctuosa — DOAN & CASTOE 2005 Oreosaurus luctuosus — SÁNCHEZ-PACHECO et al. 2017 Riama luctuosa — LINDKEN et al. 2024 |
| Distribution | Venezuela (Aragua), elevation 1100 m Type locality: “Venezuela” |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: ZMB 1162 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus Oreosaurus): All unambiguously optimized synapomorphies for this clade are from DNA sequences. Phenotypic synapomorphies are not known. Other characteristics include: (1) head scales smooth; (2) frontoparietal and parietal scales paired; (3) interparietal, frontal and frontonasal scales single; (4) prefrontal scales usually absent (present in O. mcdiarmidi); (5) lower eyelid divided into several scales; (6) loreal scale usually present (absent in O. “Venezuela” and O. shrevei); (7) scale organs on labials present; (8) anteriormost supraocular and anteriormost superciliary scales unfused; (9) dorsal surface of the tongue covered in scale-like papillae; (10) nuchal scales keeled or smooth; (11) dorsal body scales hexagonal (or sub-hexagonal) or rectangular; smooth or keeled (prominent keel); (12) ventral body scales smooth; (13) limbs pentadactyl; digits clawed; (14) femoral pores in both sexes present; (15) hemipenial lobes large, distinct from hemipenial body (narrow, indistinct from hemipenial body in O. “Sierra Nevada”). Oreosaurus differs from Riama and Andinosaura by lacking a narrow band of differentiated granular lateral scales (oval, nongranular scales instead). [SÁNCHEZ-PACHECO et al. 2017]. |
| Comment | Type species: Ecpleopus (Oreosaurus) luctuosus PETERS 1863 is the type species of the genus Oreosaurus PETERS 1863, as subsequently designated by BURT & BURT 1931. Note that Barabanov & Ananjeva 2007 also created a subgenus Oreosaura within Phrynocephalus (type species: P. vlangalii -- see there). History: Peters (1862) erected Oreosaurus as a subgenus of Ecpleopus for his new species E. (O.) striatus and E. (O.) luctuosus (in sequence). Boulenger (1885) elevated Oreosaurus to genus rank. Andersson (1914) synonymized it with Proctoporus, and Doan and Castoe (2005) implicitly placed it in the synonymy of Riama. Peters (1862) did not designate a type species. Although O. striatus was first described, Burt and Burt (1931), without comment (but still a valid action), designated O. luctuosus as the type species (Uzzell, 1958: 2; contra Peters and Donoso-Barros, 1970 and Kizirian, 1996: 86; SÁNCHEZ-PACHECO et al. 2017). Uzzell (1958, 1970) suggested preliminary groupings within Proctoporus. The P. luctuosus group, unified by a divided palpebral eye disc, no median occipital, four supraoculars, and legs overlapping when adpressed, included P. achlyens Uzzell, P. laevis, P. luctuosus, P. oculatus, and P. shrevei Parker (Uzzell,1958). Abundance: Rare. This is one of the species called “lost” and “rediscovered” by Lindken et al. 2024. |
| Etymology | Named probably after the Latin adjective “luctuosus” = sorrowful or mournful, for unknown reasons. The name Oreosaurus is derived from the Greek words oros, meaning mountain and sauros (lizard), and refers to the mountainous distribution of the new subgenus's constituent species. Barabanov & Ananjeva 2007 created the subgenus Oreosaura as a feminine genus while the Peters’ genus is used a masculine. |
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