Abstract
Based on phylogenetic and molecular dating analyses of several species of Cnemidophorus and Ameiva, representing major groups of species of these two genera, we uncover a previously unrecognized Ameiva lineage, which includes described Cnemidophorus parecis from south‐western Amazonia. We discuss the diagnosis of Ameiva and Cnemidophorus and the implications of the new taxonomic rearrangement of genera from Teiidae for the monophyly of Ameiva. Based on the conclusion of our analyses, we provide description of a new species named Ameiva jacuba from the central Brazilian Cerrado and a detailed diagnosis for the relocation of C. parecis to Ameiva. We do not adopt here recent taxonomic changes proposed for Teiidae and provide a discussion about them. Finally, based on molecular dating and the distribution of living species, we propose an evolutionary scenario for the origins of South American cis‐Andean Ameiva lineages, associated with the topographic subdivision of the Cerrado region during Miocene marine introgressions.
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