Sauresia Gray, 1852

Schools, Molly & Hedges, S. Blair, 2021, Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the Neotropical forest lizards (Squamata, Diploglossidae), Zootaxa 4974 (2), pp. 201-257 : 231-232

Genus Sauresia Gray, 1852

Long-headed Four-toed Forest Lizards

Fig. 19

Sauresia Gray, 1852:282 . Type species: Sauresia sepsoides Gray, 1852:282 , by original designation.

Embryopus Weinland, 1863:135 . Type species: Embryopus habichii Weinland, 1863:135 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Species of Sauresia have (1) claw sheath, present, (2) contact between the nasal and rostral scales, absent, (3) scales in contact with the nasal scale, four, (4) postnasal scales, one, (5) position of the nostril in the nasal scale, central, (6) keels on dorsal body scales, absent, (7) digits per limb, four, (8) longest toe lamellae, 8–12, (9) dorsal scale rows, 101–127, (10) relative head width, 9.36–12.2, (11) relative rostral height, 41.3–66.2, (12) relative frontonasal length, 1.70–2.56, (13) relative interparietal distance, 0–0.431, (14) relative axilla-groin distance 63.9–69.9.

From Advenus gen. nov., we distinguish Sauresia by the digits per limb (four versus five in Advenus gen. nov.), the longest toe lamellae (8–12 versus 16–17), the dorsal scale rows (101–127 versus 96), the distance between the parietal scales (0–0.431 versus 0.632), and the relative axilla-groin distance (63.9–69.9 versus 60.0). From Caribicus gen. nov., we distinguish Sauresia by the claw sheath (present versus absent in Caribicus gen. nov.), keels on the dorsal body scales (absent versus their presence in Caribicus gen. nov.), digits per limb (four versus five), relative frontonasal length (1.70–2.56 versus 2.98–3.32), and the distance between the parietal scales (0– 0.431 versus 0.468–1.42). From Celestus , we distinguish Sauresia by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Celestus ) and the digits per limb (four versus five). From Comptus gen. nov., we distinguish Sauresia by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Comptus gen. nov.), keels on the dorsal body scales (absent versus their presence in Comptus gen. nov.), digits per limb (four versus five), the longest toe lamellae (8–12 versus 13–23), the relative frontonasal length (1.70–2.56 versus 2.95–3.65), and the relative axilla-groin distance (63.9–69.9 versus 51.9–60.0). From Panolopus , we distinguish Sauresia by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Panolopus ), digits per limb (four versus five), dorsal scale rows (101–127 versus 83–100), and the relative axilla-groin distance (63.9–69.9 versus 49.7–59.6). From Wetmorena , we distinguish Sauresia by the distance between the parietal scales (0–0.431 versus 0.447–1.03).

Content. One species ( Table 3 ): Sauresia sepsoides .

Distribution. Sauresia is only known from Hispaniola but is notably absent from the driest parts of the island, including northwestern Haiti and some areas in the southern Dominican Republic ( Fig. 19 ).

Etymology. The generic name ( Sauresia ) is a feminine noun derived from the Greek word sauros (lizard) and the suffix - esia (originating within), alluding to the fact that members of this genus resemble snakes but are actually lizards.

Remarks. Sauresia is a monophyletic clade that has a support value of 100% in Bayesian and ML analyses ( Fig. 2 ). For most of the time since it was named in 1852, Sauresia has been recognized as a valid genus, distinct from Celestus . The genus was synonomized with Celestus by Hass et al. (2001) because their study using immunological data found relationships that differed from previous studies ( Savage & Lips 1993). Our study shows that the stem divergence time of Sauresia is comparable to the stem times of other genera of celestines ( Fig. 3 ). Our phylogenies also show high levels of divergence (4–7 Mya) among populations of this species ( Fig. 3 ). These results, together with other molecular and morphological data, and greater sampling of populations, indicate that the genus Sauresia includes at least 11 additional species (Schools & Hedges, unpubl.).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Phylogenetic tree of diploglossid lizards based on sequences of nine genes: four mitochondrial genes (CytB, ND2, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) and five nuclear genes (AMEL, BDNF, PLPR, RAG1, and ZFP36). Maximum likelihood tree obtained from the nine-gene dataset (59 individuals; 6,949 sites).A scale bar indicates 5% sequence divergence. The numbers at nodes are ML bootstrap values, followed by Bayesian posterior probabilities; asterisks indicate significant (≥ 95%) support, and a dash or zero value indicates weak (<50%) support. The tree is rooted with Pseudopus apodus (Anguidae).

FIGURE 3. Timetree of Diploglossidae based on sequences of nine genes: four mitochondrial genes (CytB, ND2, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) and five nuclear genes (AMEL, BDNF, PLPR, RAG1, and ZFP36). Nodes show divergence times in millions of years. A scale bar indicates time (6 million years ago, Mya). We show Bayesian credibility ranges as gray bars at nodes.

FIGURE 19. (A) In life image of Sauresia sepsoides (Voucher not available, SBH 267756). Photograph by S. B. Hedges. (B) The distribution of Sauresia on Hispaniola and islets. Arrow indicates distribution on Grande Cayemite.