Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Riolaminae), Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: White-spotted Riolama |
Synonym | Prionodactylus leucostictus BOULENGER 1900 Euspondylus leucostictus — BURT & BURT 1933: 63 Euspondylus leucostictus — PETERS et al. 1970: 121 Riolama leucostictus — UZZELL 1973 Riolama leucosticta — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999 Riolama leucosticta — RECODER et al. 2020 |
Distribution | Venezuela (see comment)
Type locality: Summit of Mount Roraima, Venezuela, 8600 ft elevation.
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Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.2.8 (formerly 1899.3.25.4) |
Diagnosis | DIAGNOSIS (genus). The widely separated nasal scales, each surrounding a nostril, and the pentadactyl limbs with all digits clawed place Riolama in Boulenger's (1885) Group II of the Teiidae. The combination of uniformly keeled, hexagonal dorsal scales, slightly recessed tympanum, oblique plicae rather than papillae on the anterior part of the tongue, and depressed digits with swollen tips distinguish Riolama from all other genera in Group II.
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Comment | Type species: Prionodactylus leucostictus BOULENGER 1900 is the type species of the genus Riolama UZZELL 1973. Riolama UZZELL 1973 is also the type species of the subfamily Riolaminae KOK 2015 and its only genus.
Distribution: the known localities are right at the borders of Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil, so that this species may occur in the other countries as well. See map in Recoder et al. 2020 (Fig. 1). |
Etymology | Named after Greek leuco (λευκο), white + Greek stiktos (στικτός), marked with spots, dappled. [“... (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024)
The genus was named after a fictional locality in the novel Green Mansions, by William Henry Hudson. ["...Riolama was the name and home of Rima, who inhabited another isolated mountain of northern South America in W. H. Hudson’s Green Mansions…"]. |
References |
- Barrio-Amorós, César L. & Brewer-Carias, Charles 2008. Herpetological results of the 2002 expedition to Sarisari–ama, a tepui in Venezuelan Guayana, with the description of five new species. Zootaxa 1942: 1-68 - get paper here
- Boulenger, G. A. 1900. Reptiles and Batrachians. In: E.R. Lankester, Report on a collection made by Messrs. F.V. McConnell and J.J. Quelch at Mount Roraima in British Guiana. Reptiles. Trans. Linnaean Soc. London (2) 8: 53-56 - get paper here
- Burt, C. E., and M. D. Burt 1933. A preliminary check list of the lizards of South America. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis 28: 1-104.
- Esqueda, L.F.; La Marca, E. & Praderio, M.J. 2004. Una nueva especie de lagarto altotepuyano del género Riolama (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) del Cerro Marahuaca, Estado Amazonas, Venezuela. Herpetotropicos 1 (2): 11-17 - get paper here
- Gorzula, Stefan & Senaris, J. Celsa 1999. In: Contribution to the herpetofauna of the Venezuelan Guayana. I: a data base. Scientia Guaianae, Caracas, No. 8 [1998], 269+ pp.; ISBN 980-6020-48-0
- Kok, P. J. R. 2015. A new species of the Pantepui endemic genus Riolama (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from the summit of Murisipán-tepui, with the erection of a new gymnophthalmid subfamily. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 174: 500–518. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12241
- Peters, James A. & Donoso-Barros, Roberto 1970. Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: Part II. Lizards and Amphisbaenians. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 297: 293 pp. - get paper here
- RECODER, RENATO;IVAN PRATES,SERGIO MARQUES-SOUZA, AGUSTÍN CAMACHO, PEDRO M. SALES-NUNES, FRANCISCO DAL VECHIO, JOSÉ MARIO GHELLERE, ROY W. MCDIARMID and MIGUEL TREFAUT RODRIGUES 2020. Lizards from the Lost World: two new species and evolutionary relationships of the Pantepui highland Riolama (Gymnophthalmidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 190 (1): 271–297 - get paper here
- RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here
- Uzzell, T. 1973. A revision of lizards of the genus Prionodactylus with a new genus for P. leucostictus and notes on the genus Euspondylus (Sauria, Teiidae). Postilla 159: 1-67 - get paper here
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