New Patagonian species of Liolaemus (Iguania: Liolaemidae) and novelty lepidosis of the southernmost lizard of the world: Liolaemus magellanicus

CRISTIAN SIMÓN ABDALA; DIEGO PROCOPIO; OSCAR STELLATELLI; ALEJANDRO TRAVAINI; ALEJANDRO RODRIGUEZ; MARIO RICARDO RUIZ MONACHESI

ZOOTAXA

MAGNOLIA PRESS

Lugar: Auckland; Año: 2014 vol. 3866 p. 526 - 542

1175-5326

We describe a new species within the genus Liolaemus from southeast Argentine Patagonia. This new taxon, Liolaemus yatel sp. nov., presents anatomical traits shared with the Liolaemus lineomaculatussection within the Liolaemus lineomaculatus group, especially the absence of precloacal pores in both sexes. However, Liolaemus yatel sp. nov.does not exhibit trifid dorsal scales, which is a diagnostic character of the L. lineomaculatusgroup. Moreover, this new species differs from other taxa of the L. lineomaculatusgroup in that dorsal and nuchal scales either completely lack keels or are slightly keeled. We also report, for the first time, the presence of trifid scales in Liolaemus magellanicus, another species included in the L. lineomaculatussection but constituting an independent lineage regarding the L. lineomaculatusgroup. The phenotypic traits of L. yatel sp. nov.and the presence of trifid scales in L. magellanicusprovide additional information for the study of evolutionary relationships among the species of the L. lineomaculatus section, especially the establishment of their diagnostic character states.