Vanzosaura savanicola RECODER, WERNECK, TEXEIRA JR, COLLI, SITES & RODRIGUES, 2014
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Vanzosaura savanicola?
Vanzosaura savanicola
Find more photos by Google images search: 
| Higher Taxa | Gymnophthalmidae (Gymnophthalminae), Gymnophthalmini, Sauria, Gymnophthalmoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Portuguese: Calango-da-Savana, Calango-Listrado, Lagarto-de-Rabo-Vermelho |
| Synonym | Vanzosaura savanicola RECODER, WERNECK, TEXEIRA JR, COLLI, SITES & RODRIGUES 2014 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Tocantins) Type locality: Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (11°14′51.3′′S, 46°55′05.1′′W; 590 m elevation.; datum WGS84), municipality of Almas, state of Tocantins, Brazil (Fig. 10 in Recoder et al. 2014) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MZUSP 103202 (field number MTR 14754) collected on 4 February 2008 by M.T. Rodrigues, R.S. Recoder, M. Teixeira Jr, A. Camacho, T. Mott, P.H. Valdujo, J.M. Ghellere, P. Nunes, and C. Nogueira. Paratypes: MZUSP. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Vanzosaura savanicola sp. nov. is characterized by: (1) 6–21 smooth subcaudals; (2) 12–16 femoral pores in males; (3) snout acute in profile; (4) forelimbs long relative to trunk length, with FAL 60.8 ± 0.03% of TRL in females and 63.3 ± 0.02% in males; (5) colour pattern ‘complex’, with eight to ten whitish dorsal stripes that become irregular or discontinuous on the head; (6) inner and outer ventral row of scales nearly subequal in width; (7) prefrontal scales usually separated (66%); (8) small size for the genus, with largest male attaining 34.5 mm SVL and largest female attaining 35.6 mm SVL; (9) proportionally long tails, with an average size of complete tails (not regenerated) in relation to body size (TAL/SVL) of 1.74 ± 0.19. Comparisons: Vanzosaura savanicola sp. nov. is readily diagnosed from V. multiscutata comb. nov. and V. rubricauda by having eight to 22 smooth subcaudals (more than 25 subcaudals in V. multiscutata comb. nov. and V. rubricauda), snout acute in profile (snout rounded in profile), and forelimbs long in proportion to body length, with FAL 60.7% of TRL in females and 63.6% in males (forelimbs shorter, FAL on average 54.8% of TRL in females and 57.8% in males in V. multiscutata comb. nov.; 54.8% of TRL in females and 57.5% in males in V. rubricauda). Vanzosaura savanicola sp. nov. can also be distinguished from V. multiscutata comb. nov. and V. rubricauda by its smaller size, with the largest male attaining 34.5 mm in SVL and the largest female attaining 35.6 mm in SVL (37.6 and 38.0 mm, respectively, in V. multiscutata comb. nov.; 36.0 and 41.5 mm, respectively, in V. rubricauda), and by having proportionally longer tails, with a mean TAL/ SVL of 1.74 (mean TAL/SVL of 1.65 and 1.53 in V. multiscutata comb. nov. and V. rubricauda, respectively). Furthermore, V. savanicola sp. nov. can be distinguished from V. multiscutata comb. nov. by presenting 12–16 femoral pores in males (10–13; Table 2), prefrontals usually separate, 66% (prefrontals usually in contact, 81%), ventral row of scales nearly subequal in width (inner row of ventral scales narrower than outer), and complex colour pattern (colour pattern complex, single, or intermediate; Fig. 11). Strongly supported mtDNA haploclades and corrected distances of up to 13% distinguish V. savanicola sp. nov. from V. multiscutata comb. nov., and up to 5% distinguish V. savanicola sp. nov. from V. rubricauda. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet makes reference to the distribution of the new species in savannah habitats, the predominant type of vegetation in the Cerrado region of central South America. |
| References |
|
| External links |