Three New Lizard Species of the Liolaemus montanus Group from Perú

César Aguilar-Puntriano,Jack W Sites,Ernesto Castillo,Alejandro Mendoza,Victor J Vargas,César Ramírez

doi:10.3390/d11090161

César Aguilar-Puntriano, Jack W Sites + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/d11090161

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Abstract

Three new species of Liolaemus belonging to the L. montanus group are described from Perú. Two new species are restricted to the Ica and Moquegua departments on the Pacific coast, and one new species is only known from an isolated highland in Ayacucho department. These three new species differ from closely related species in their coloration patterns and head shape. We comment on the conservation issues of the new species and other Peruvian species of the L. montanus group.

Highlights

Liolaemus species of the L. montanus group comprise about 60 species and several candidate species [1,2,3]
We describe two new species previously identified as Liolaemus “Abra Toccto” and Liolaemus “Nazca”, and comment on conservation issues threating the new species and other Peruvian species of the L. montanus group
We describe three new species of Liolaemus lizards and we hope in the near future they will be evaluated and be part of a conservation program if needed

Summary

Introduction

Liolaemus species of the L. montanus group comprise about 60 species and several candidate species [1,2,3]. Two candidate species (“Nazca” and “Abra Toccto”) have been proposed based on an integrative approach in the northern range of the L. montanus group, but species description are still lacking [2]. A more comprehensive phylogeny of the Liolaemus montanus group identified another well supported candidate species (Liolaemus “Moquegua”) based on two mitochondrial and five nuclear markers. This candidate species forms a clade with Liolaemus “Nazca”, L. insolitus and

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