Liolaemus duellmani Cei, 1978

Avila, Luciano Javier, Vrdoljak, Juan Esteban & Morando, Mariana, 2021, Liolaemus duellmani Cei, 1978 (Reptilia: Squamata: Liolaemini), redescription of the holotype and variation in a microendemic and inadequately known species of Liolaemus from Northwestern Patagonia, Zootaxa 5081 (2), pp. 263-274 : 264-272

Liolaemus duellmani Cei, 1978

Fig. 1–3

Redescription of the holotype. KU 161126 . Male, snout–vent length (SVL) 78.64 (80 in original description). Axila-groin distance 37.26 (42.0). Head length 15.8 (18.5). Head width 13.02 (14.6). Head height (at parietal) 9.62. Eye diameter 3.41. Interorbital distance 6.7. Orbit–auditory meatus distance 5.46. Auditory meatus height 2.72, width 2.02. Orbit–commissure of mouth distance 2.12. Distance between nares 3.39. Subocular scale 4.67. Arm length 18.99. Tibial length 12.27. Foot length 18.72. Humerus length 7.72. Humerus width 4.01. Tail length 92.2 (regenerated in the tip) .

Dorsal surface of head smooth, with 15 scales (from occiput to rostral scale). Rostral scale twice as wide as high, pentagonal, bordered by 6 scales. Mental scale larger than rostral, pentagonal, bordered by four scales. Rostral scale not in contact with nasal. Two postrostral scales. Five internasals. Nares slightly larger than half nasal scale. Nasal scale surrounded by eight (right) and seven (left) scales, separated from canthal by two scales. Five scales between rostral and superciliaries. Seven scales between rostral and frontal. Two frontal scales. Interparietal smaller than parietals, subtriangular, with a conspicuous ¨parietal eye¨, surrounded by five scales, two larger irregular shaped parietal scales. Six superciliaries. Eyelids slightly fringed, with a conspicuous dark spot. Supraorbital semicircles complete, 26 scales (right), 27 scales (left). Five enlarged supraoculars on each side, 31 in total (right), 32 (left). Preocular scale separated from lorilabial row by two scales. Auditory meatus without projecting scales. Twelve smooth horizontal temporals and 11 vertical temporals. Ten lorilabials on each side, four in contact with subocular scale. Subocular scale, large, conspicuous, 4.67. Preocular hexagonal, small. Postocular small but very conspicuous shape, enlarged, with a sharp keeled. Eight (right), ten (left) supralabials. Six (right), five (left) infralabials. Six chinshields. Scales on the sides of the head spotted with 4–7 scale organs, more numerous than in other areas of the head; some supralabial and infralabial scales without scale organs, or only a few in the margins. Forty-eight gulars between auditory meatus, rounded, juxtaposed, smooth (48–50). Scales of lateral neck granular, rounded, with a scale organ each, smaller than subimbricate dorsal neck scales. Postauricular, rictal, and longitudinal nuchal folds conspicuous. Fifty-one scales along longitudinal fold, 50 scales between margin of antehumeral pocket and arm.

Eighty-six scales around midbody (86–90). Ninety-six dorsal scales, from occiput to rump, juxtaposed, smooth, with rounded anterior margins. One hundred twelve ventral scales, larger than dorsals, flat, imbricated in abdominal region, juxtaposed in lateral regions. Scales on the flanks, small, granular, with some heteronotes.

Supracarpal scales irregular, flat/smooth, rounded, sub imbricated. Infracarpal scales flat, imbricate, trifid. Suprantehumeral scales lanceolate, flat, larger and sub imbricated anteriorly, becoming rounded, smaller, yuxtaposed, posteriorly. Suprahumeral scales sublanceolated, flat, sublanceolated, subimbricated, slighltly mucronated, larger than dorsal and other limb scales, most with scale organ in anterior tip. Supratarsal, suprantetibial y suprantefemoral scales flat, subimbricated and rounded, becoming larger in the infrafemoral region. Infratarsals scales flat, imbricate, keeled. Scales around insertion of the limbs, small, round and granular. Femoral patch inconspicuous, a slightly bulged post femoral area, but not enlarged scales, all scales rounded. Subdigital lamellae on IV finger 18, faintly keeled; 21 on toe IV, tricarinated. All digits with sharp claws, 3–5 mm long.

Four precloacal pores almost indistinct, same color as surrounding scales, small.

Coloration of the holotype in preservative. Dorsum of head spotted with small black/dark gray dots distributed irregularly, on a dark/light gray background; sides of the head clearer, preocular and subocular scales conspicuously white. Mental, submentals, chinshield and infra mental scales creamy white. Gular scales light gray/white, mottled with black. Dorsum light gray with sixteen, irregular, transversal rows of dark spots, each enclosing white/light gray area. Belly irregularly dark gray to black.

Variation in males and females. Based on paratypes and additional adult specimens (9 males and 13 females, juveniles were not included in measurements or scale counts) cited in Appendix 1. Paratype IBA-UNC 139 (cited as holotype by Literas et al. 2019) and specimen MACN 51578 were not revised in this study. Variation in morphometric and meristic characters in males and females studied are shown in Table 1 . Color in preservative after fixation resembles live specimens, but all bright yellow/pink/orange coloration disappeared. Variation in coloration pattern is shown in Figs. 4 , 5 and 6 .

Color in life in males and females. Head background coloration grey, with some areas on the prefrontal, supraocular, parietal, interparietal and occiput scales darker. Supralabials white, spotted with conspicuous dark scale pores. Dorsal background variable; with a series of 12–14 transversal marks between occiput to rump, irregular shaped, with a clear/white cream posterior notch along vertebral field becoming pink in lateral areas. In lateral region, transversal marks adopt a reticulated pattern, delimiting rounded areas with white/pink background. Brilliant white spotted scales sprayed along the lateral sides of the trunk.Along first third of the tail, transversal marks become conspicuously ringed, but divided in the last part of the tail, fused in some individuals near the tip. After the third/ four caudal ring, tail background coloration becoming pinky, more brilliant in basking animals. Limbs background similar to body dorsum, except in the ventral region, with irregular, sometimes reticulated transversal dark marks. Gular coloration white, with irregular dark marks, with a conspicuously white mental scale. Ventral area mostly black, reaching femoral areas, with scale white-bordered, extending to the cloacal and to the tail tip. Hands and feet, had a conspicuously bright orange/yellow, an unusual characteristics in other Liolaemus species ; sometimes this coloration extended well marked in antebrachium, axilla, posterior margin of cloaca, and ventral surfaces of hindlimbs. In some individuals, some conspicuously brilliant yellow scales are irregularly sprayed in chest region. In basking individuals, all these yellow areas are bright orange. Claws very conspicuous dark gray/brown. General pattern of coloration is almost similar in all individuals, no evident sexual dichromatism can be found between males and females. Only a juvenile individual was observed, but coloration pattern was identical to adults.

Distribution and habitat. Liolaemus duellmani is the southernmost member of the Liolaemus montanus group and has been found only in a few localities ( Fig. 7 ), over 2200 m in elevation in southern Mendoza Province, Malargüe Department in central-west Argentina. General name for the area is Portezuelo del Choique, a mountain range with no specific name in geological charts.

Collection localities are small hills with loose soils intermixed with volcanic rocks ( Fig. 8 ). Biogeographically is part of the Patagonia Province, Payunia District, a dwarf-shrub steppe with Nassauvia glomerulosa , Azorella sp. , Adesmia sp. , intermixed with grasses of Pappostipa and Poa species , and bundles of Maihuenia patagonica . Fifteen lizards were observed by two people during three hours of irregular transects. Almost all lizards were detected because they were basking on small rocks, only Liolaemus choique and L. buergeri were found in syntopy with L. duellmani . No data about diet or reproduction are available for this species, but Cei (1978) cited two eggs in a female.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal and ventral view of the holotype of Liolaemus duellmani (KU 161126).

FIGURE 2. Dorsal and ventral view of a male specimen of Liolaemus duellmani in the type locality.

FIGURE 3. Dorsal and ventral view of a female specimen of Liolaemus duellmani in the type locality.

FIGURE 4. Dorsal and ventral view of three males of of Liolaemus duellmani the LJAMM-CNP collection.

FIGURE 5. Dorsal and ventral view of sex females of of Liolaemus duellmani the LJAMM-CNP collection.

FIGURE 6. Dorsal and ventral view of the four specimens of Liolaemus duellmani in the SDSU collection (now in MVZ).

FIGURE 7. Map of southern Mendoza province showing main orographic landmarks and National Road 40, main connector in the region. Liolaemus duellmani localities are marked by red circles. Small black rectangle in the inset mark the region in South America.

FIGURE 8. Type locality of Liolaemus duellmani in Paso del Choique, Mendoza province, Malargüe department, Argentina. Upper: general view of the area. Below: microhabitat close view at site.