Wetmorena Cochran, 1927

Schools, Molly & Hedges, S. Blair, 2021, Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the Neotropical forest lizards (Squamata, Diploglossidae), Zootaxa 4974 (2), pp. 201-257 : 232-234

Genus Wetmorena Cochran, 1927

Short-headed Four-toed Forest Lizards

Fig. 20

Wetmorena Cochran, 1927:91 . Type species. Wetmorena haetiana Cochran, 1927:91 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Species of Wetmorena 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, 98–117, (10) relative head width, 8.52–14.5, (11) relative rostral height, 38.7–61.8, (12) relative frontonasal length, 1.47–2.69, (13) relative interparietal distance, 0.447–1.03, (14) relative axilla-groin distance (59.9–71.4).

From Advenus gen. nov., we distinguish Wetmorena by the digits per limb (four versus five in Advenus gen. nov.), longest toe lamellae (8–12 versus 16–17), and dorsal scale rows (98–117 versus 96). From Caribicus gen. nov., we distinguish Wetmorena by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Caribicus gen. nov.), keels on the dorsal scales (absent versus their presence in Caribicus gen. nov.), digits per limb (four versus five), and the relative frontonasal length (1.47–2.69 versus 2.98–3.32). From Celestus , we distinguish Wetmorena by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Celestus ) and the digits per limb (four versus five). From Comptus gen. nov., we distinguish Wetmorena 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), longest toe lamellae (8–12 versus 13–23), the relative frontonasal length (1.47–2.69 versus 2.95–3.65), and the distance between the parietal scales (0.447–1.03 versus 0–0.435). From Panolopus , we distinguish Wetmorena by the claw sheath (present versus its absence in Panolopus ), the digits per limb (four versus five), and the relative axilla-groin distance (59.9–71.4 versus 49.7–59.6). From Sauresia , we distinguish Wetmorena by the distance between the parietal scales (0.447–1.03 versus 0–0.431 in Sauresia ).

Content. Two species ( Table 3 ): Wetmorena agasepsoides (comb. nov.) and W. haetiana .

Distribution. Wetmorena occurs only on Hispaniola, in the Massif de la Selle ( Haiti) and Sierra de Bahoruco ( Dominican Republic) ( Fig. 20 ).

Etymology. The generic name references Dr. Alexander Wetmore, who was Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.) at the time of description.

Remarks. Wetmorena is a monophyletic clade that has a support value of 100% in Bayesian and ML analyses ( Fig. 2 ). Our phylogenies include all three subspecies of Wetmorena haetiana . Previously, authors considered Wetmorena agasepsoides to be a species of Sauresia because of similarities in their appearance, including the presence of an ear opening. However, molecular data support the clustering of Wetmorena agasepsiodes with W. haetiana with a support value of 100% in Bayesian and ML analyses, which indicates that the loss of the auricular opening occurred within the clade recognized here as the genus Wetmorena .

For most of the time since it was named in 1927, Wetmorena 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 Wetmorena is comparable to the stem times of other genera of celestines ( Fig. 3 ). The high levels of divergence (4–6 Mya) among subspecies of Wetmorena haetiana ( Fig. 3 ), together with additional molecular and morphological data (Schools & Hedges, unpubl.), and greater sampling of populations, suggest that Wetmorena is a complex that includes four additional species.

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 20. In life images of (A) Wetmorena agasepsoides (ANSP 38713, SVL 57.6 mm) and (B) Wetmorena haetiana surda (USNM 328897). Photographs by S. B. Hedges. (C) The distribution of Wetmorena on Hispaniola.