INVESTIGADORES
MORANDO mariana
artículos
Título:
Description of a new species of Homonota (Reptilia, Squamata, Phyllodactylidae) from the central region of northern Paraguay
Autor/es:
CACCIALI, P.; MORANDO, M.; AVILA, L.J.; KOHLER, G.
Revista:
Zoosystematics and Evolution
Editorial:
WILEY-VCH, c2008-
Referencias:
Año: 2018 vol. 94 p. 147 - 161
Resumen:
Homonota is a gecko distributed in central and southern South America with 12 species allocated in three groups. In this work, we performed molecular and morphological anal- yses of samples of Homonota from the central region of northern Paraguay, comparing the data with those of related species of the group: H. horrida and H. septentrionalis. We found strong molecular evidence (based on the mtDNA gene Cyt-b) to distinguish this lineage as a new species. Morphological statistical analysis showed that females of the three species are different in metric characters (SVL and TL as the most contributing vari- ables), whereas males are less differentiated. No robust differences were found in meristic characters. The most remarkable trait for the diagnosis of the new species is the presence of well-developed keeled tubercles on the sides of the neck, and lack of a white band (crescent-shaped) in the occipital area, which is present in H. horrida and H. septentrion- alis. Nevertheless, in our sample, we found three specimens (one juvenile and two young adults) that exhibit the white occipital band. Thus, this character seems only reliable in adults of the new species. The new species is parapatric to H. septentrionalis, both inhab- iting the Dry Chaco of Paraguay.