Two new species of Liolaemus (IGUANIA: LIOLAEMIDAE) from the puna of Northwestern Argentina

ABDALA, C. S.; QUINTEROS, A. S.; ESPINOZA, R. E.

HERPETOLOGICA

HERPETOLOGISTS LEAGUE

Año: 2008 vol. 64 p. 458 - 471

0018-0831

We describe two new species of Liolaemus belonging to the montanus series. The new species are closely related to L. dorbignyi, but are disjunctly distributed with respect to this taxon. Both new species exhibit unique color patterns, which, along with differences in squamation, differentiate the two new taxa from the other species in the series. Both new species are saxicolous and inhabit rocky hills in the Puna regions of northwestern Argentina. One occurs in the Cerro de la Virgen, Nevados de Cachi and Nevados de Palermo of Salta Province. The other is known only from its type locality in the Cerro El Pichao of Tucuma´n Province.