Varzea altamazonica (MIRALLES, BARRIO-AMOROS, RIVAS, CHAPARRO-AUZA, 2006)
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Varzea altamazonica
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| Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Mabuyinae (Mabuyini), Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Portuguese: Calango |
| Synonym | Mabuya altamazonica MIRALLES, BARRIO-AMOROS, RIVAS, CHAPARRO-AUZA 2006 Varzea altamazonica — HEDGES & CONN 2012: 215 Mabuya altamazonica — PINTO-SÁNCHEZ et al. 2015 Mabuya altamazonica — TORRES-CARVAJAL et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Peru (Amazonia), Bolivia, Colombia, probably Ecuador, Brazil Type locality: Kilometer 34 on road Tarapoto-Yurimaguas (600 m elevation), Concesión de Manejo de Fauna Silvestre ASPRAVEP (Asociación de Productores de Ranas Venenosas Progreso), Rio Cainarachi, Departamento San Martin, Peru. |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 2006.0291, an adult female, May 2005, collector undetermined; paratypes MNHN-RA 1999.4827-4829, MNHN-RA 1978.2141 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis A relatively big sized Mabuya having paired prefrontals and frontoparietals, four supraoculars, most frequently five subequal supraciliaries, seven supralabiales with the fifth being the largest and placed under the eyes, parietals in broad contact behind the interparietal and a single pair of nuchals. Two upper and two lower lateral dark stripes; back spotless or covered by many dash-shaped chocolate spots; palms and soles dark. Mabuya altamazonica differs from the nine species of Mabuya occurring potentially in western Amazonian and peri-Andean regions [M. bistriata (Spix 1825), M. carvalhoi Rebouças-Spieker & Vanzolini 1990, M. cochabambae Dunn 1936, M. dorsivittata Cope 1862b, M. frenata (Cope 1862a), M. guaporicola Dunn 1936, M. meridensis Miralles et al. 2005b, M. nigropalmata Andersson 1918, M. nigropunctata (Spix 1825)] by the combined presence of: paired frontoparietals (versus frontoparietals fused together in M. carvalhoi, M. frenata and M. nigropalmata), paired prefrontals (versus prefrontals fused together in M. carvalhoi), a single pair of nuchals (versus two to four pairs in M. carvalhoi and M. nigropalmata), four supraoculars (versus three in M. cochabambae and M. dorsivittata), most often five subequal supraciliaries (versus four, with the second largest in M. bistriata, M. dorsivittata, M. guaporicola and M. meridensis), absence of a vertebral thin stripe (contrary to M. cochabambae, M. dorsivittata, M. guaporicola and M. meridensis), seven supralabials with the fifth being the largest and placed under the eyes (versus eight supralabials with the sixth being the largest and placed under the eyes in M. frenata and most specimens of M. nigropunctata), parietals in broad contact behind the interparietal (versus parietals separated by the interparietal or barely in point contact in M. nigropunctata), palms and soles darker than belly (versus light palms and soles in M. bistriata, M. carvalhoi, M. cochabambae, M. dorsivittata, M. frenata and M. guaporicola), and fore- and hind limbs touching (or almost touching) each other when adpressed against body (versus fore- and hind limbs distinctly separated from each other when adpressed against body in M. cochabambae, M. dorsivittata, and M. guaporicola). |
| Comment | Sympatricd with M. nigropunctata. Summary: Despite their superficial similarity, those two Amazonian species could be differentiated both by cephalic scalation characters and molecular results (12S rRNA). Mabuya altamazonica sp. nov. differs from all Amazonian and Andean species of Mabuya by the combined presence of (1) paired prefrontals and frontoparietals, (2) a single pair of nuchals, (3) four supraoculars, (4) five subequal supraciliaries, (5) seven supralabials with the fifth being the largest and placed under the eye, (6) parietals in contact behind the interparietal and (7) dark palms and soles. |
| Etymology | Named after the distribution of this taxon, which is endemic to the extreme occidental part of the Amazon forest, and literally means “from the upper Amazonia”. |
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