Two New Species of Cnemidophorus (Squamata: Teiidae) from Islands of the Northeastern Coast of Venezuela

We describe two new whiptail lizard species, previously assigned to Cnemidophorus lemniscatus, from islands of the state of Nueva Esparta and Los Frailes Archipelago, off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The two new species differ from C. lemniscatus in color, pattern, and squamation. The specie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Herpetological monographs 2009-01, Vol.23 (1), p.123-153
Main Authors: Ugueto, Gabriel N., Harvey, Michael B., Rivas, Gilson A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal scales
Archipelagos
Bisexuality
Cnemidophorus lemniscatus Species Complex
Herpetology
Lizards
Los Frailes Archipelago
Los Testigos Archipelago
Male animals
New species
Nueva Esparta
South America
Squamata
Stripes
Systematics
Teiidae
Venezuela
Young animals
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Summary:We describe two new whiptail lizard species, previously assigned to Cnemidophorus lemniscatus, from islands of the state of Nueva Esparta and Los Frailes Archipelago, off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The two new species differ from C. lemniscatus in color, pattern, and squamation. The species from the islands of Margarita and Cubagua can be distinguished from the one of Los Frailes Archipelago in having the circumorbital semicircles extending further anteriorly, more scales between supraocular and supraciliaries, and a larger number of scales of a smaller size between the preanal shield and anal spurs. The two new species also differ conspicuously in color and pattern of both sexes and all age classes. Additionally, we comment on the status of the population of Cnemidophorus of Los Testigos Archipelago, discuss the morphological and color variation observed in C. lemniscatus from northern Venezuela and restrict the distribution of the latter species in the country to the mainland.
ISSN:0733-1347
1938-5137
DOI:10.1655/09-035.1