Proctoporus machupicchu MAMANI, GOICOECHEA & CHAPARRO, 2015
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Proctoporus machupicchu
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| Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Cercosaurinae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | English: Machu Picchu Andean Lizard Spanish: Lagartija Andina de Machu Picchu |
| Synonym | Proctoporus machupicchu MAMANI, GOICOECHEA & CHAPARRO 2015 |
| Distribution | Peru (Cusco) Type locality: Peru, Department of Cusco, Province Urubamba, District Machu Picchu, from Aobamba (13° 14′ 17′′ S; 72° 33′ 15′′ W), 2,760 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: MHNC 13362 (Museo Cusco, Peru), adult female (field number LM 834), collected by Luis Mamani, Frank P. Condori, and Juan C. Chaparro on 16 June 2013 (Fig. 1; 2 A–C; 3 A–B in MAMNI et al. 2015). Paratypes: MHNC 13373, field number LM 845, (Fig. 3 E–F), immature male, same data as holotype; MHNC 13513, adult female (field number LM 637, Fig. 2 D–F; 3 C–D), Peru, Department of Cusco, Province Urubam- ba, District Machu Picchu, from Wiñaywayna (13° 11’ 33.72” S; 72° 32’ 18.66” W), 2,800 m, collected by Luis Mamani, Kateryne Pino, Alexander Pari, Andres Garcia, and Gerardo Ceballos on 11 September 2012. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: (1) Frontonasal length equal to the frontal length; (2) nasoloreal suture present in all specimens; (3) Loreal scale present, not in contact with supralabials; (4) supraoculars three; (5) superciliaries four, first not expanded onto the dorsal surface of the head; (6) postoculars two; (7) palpebral disc made up of a single, undivided scale; (8) four supralabials anterior to the posteroventral angle of the subocular; (9) three pairs of genials in medial contact; (10) dorsal body scales quad- rangular, keeled; (11) transverse rows of dorsals 38–39; (12) transverse ventral rows 21; (13) a continuous se- ries of small lateral scales separating dorsals from ventrals; (14) posterior cloacal plate made up of six scales in both sexes; (15) anterior preanal plate scales paired; (16) femoral pores present or not in males, when is present six per hind limb (Fig. 3 G), absent in females; (17) preanal pores absent; (18) subdigital lamellae on toe IV 16–17; subdigital lamellae on finger V 10–11; (19) limbs overlapping when adpressed against body in adults; (20) limbs pentadactyl, digits clawed; (21) dorsal and lateral surfaces of head dark brown; lip irregularly yellow or orange-cream stripes; ventral surface of head and pregular region cream or orange, with or without irregular black blotches; venter black or dark gray with cream or cream- orange spots on the posterior margin of some scales, in male juveniles is orange with black blotches. All specimens of Proctoporus machupicchu have an undivided palpebral eye disc, a putative synapomorphy of the genus Proctoporus (Doan and Castoe 2005; Uzzell 1970). Proctoporus machupicchu can be distinguished from all other species of the genus, except for P. iridescens, by the presence of three pairs of genials in medial contact (two in all other species of Proctoporus). It can be distinguished from P. iridescens by having four supralabials anterior to the posteroventral angle of the subocular, by the presence of a loreal scale and a nasolo- real suture (three supralabias, loreal scale, and nasoloreal suture absent in P. iridescens). It can further be differentiated from P. pachyurus by having three supraoculars not fused with superciliaries (four supraoculars in P. pachyurus, first fused with first superciliary), and 38–39 transverse dorsal scale rows (47–60 in P. pachyurus); from P. sucullucu by having a frontonasal scale equal in length to the frontal scale (frontonasal scale longer than the frontal scale in P. sucullucu), and loreal scale not in contact with the supralabials (in contact in P. sucullucu); from P. bolivianus by having frontonasal length equal to the frontal length (frontonasal longer than frontal scale in P. bolivianus); first superciliary not fused with first supra- ocular (fused in P. bolivianus); from P. unsaacae and P. guentheri by the absence of a series of continuous lateral ocelli, loreal scale not in contact with supralabials, and the absence of a pair of enlarged pregular scales in contact (present in P. unsaacae and P. guentheri, loreal scale in contact with supralabials in P. unsaacae and a pair of enlarged pregular scales in medial contact in P. sucullucu); from P. carabaya and P. kiziriani by having a first supraocular not fused with the first superciliary, (fused in P. carabaya and P. kiziriani) and limbs overlapping when adpressed against body (not overlapping in P. carabaya and P. kiziriani); from P. lacertus by having first supraocular not fused with the first superciliary (fused in P. lacertus), and the presence of a loreal scale (absent in P. lacertus); from P. xestus by the lack of prefrontal scales (present in P. xestus) and the existence of keeled dorsal scales (smooth in P. xestus); and from P. chasqui by the lack of prefrontal scales (present in P. chasqui), supraoculars three (four in P. chasqui), and femoral pores absent in females (present in females of P. chasqui). |
| Comment | Habitat: Individuals were found during the day under rocks in the montane forest, of the eastern slope, of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes. Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is an indeclinable word that refers to the distribution of the new species in the Natural Protected Area of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, in the Cordillera of Vilcanota, one of the most important formations in the Andes of southern Peru. |
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