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| Plestiodon lotus
Vázquez, De Oca, Hernández, Alcalá, Cruz-padilla & Arcos, 2017
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Abstract
We describe a new species of Plestiodon in the P. brevirostris group from the Balsas Basin in central Mexico. It is distinguished from the other species in the group by the following combination of traits: supraoculars four; interparietal enclosed posteriorly by parietals; primary temporal present; seventh supralabial usually contacting upper secondary temporal; longitudinal dorsal scale rows around midbody 23–26; Toe-IV lamellae 13–15; limbs not overlapping when adpressed against body; dorsolateral light line extending posteriorly to level of posterior end of anterior fourth of body or beyond; light median line absent in all growth stages; primary lateral dark lines separated medially by six dorsal scale rows and upper half of adjacent row on each side at level of midbody; lower secondary dark line faint at level of neck; and light coloration of supralabials extending ventrally to lip border. Analyses based on DNA sequences of three loci support the distinctiveness of the new species, as well as its sister species relationship with P. ochoterenae. The Environmental Vulnerability Score of the new species places it in the high vulnerability category.
Key words: Environmental Vulnerability Score, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Skink, Systematics, Taxonomy
Plestiodon lotus sp. nov.
Etymology. The specific Latin name is treated as a participle in the nominative singular and means bathed, clean, elegant. It makes reference to the appearance of the new species, characterized by having fainter lines than its geographically closest congeners.
Carlos J. Pavón Vázquez, Adrián Nieto Montes De Oca, Andrés A. Mendoza Hernández, Eric Centenero Alcalá, Samuel A. Santa Cruz-padilla and Víctor H. Jiménez Arcos. 2017. A New Species of Plestiodon (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Balsas Basin, Mexico. Zootaxa. 4365(2); 149–172. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4365.2.3
We describe a new species of Plestiodon in the P. brevirostris group from the Balsas Basin in central Mexico. It is distinguished from the other species in the group by the following combination of traits: supraoculars four; interparietal enclosed posteriorly by parietals; primary temporal present; seventh supralabial usually contacting upper secondary temporal; longitudinal dorsal scale rows around midbody 23–26; Toe-IV lamellae 13–15; limbs not overlapping when adpressed against body; dorsolateral light line extending posteriorly to level of posterior end of anterior fourth of body or beyond; light median line absent in all growth stages; primary lateral dark lines separated medially by six dorsal scale rows and upper half of adjacent row on each side at level of midbody; lower secondary dark line faint at level of neck; and light coloration of supralabials extending ventrally to lip border. Analyses based on DNA sequences of three loci support the distinctiveness of the new species, as well as its sister species relationship with P. ochoterenae. The Environmental Vulnerability Score of the new species places it in the high vulnerability category.
Key words: Environmental Vulnerability Score, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Skink, Systematics, Taxonomy
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| Plestiodon lotus in life (Paratypes MZFC-HE 30624) from the vicinities of the type locality, Olinalá, Guerrero. |
Plestiodon lotus sp. nov.
Plestiodon brevirostris brevirostris (Günther, 1860) (in part); Feria-Ortiz et al. (2011:40–41, 43–47, 50, Table 6)
Plestiodon brevirostris (Günther, 1860) (in part); Feria-Ortiz et al. (2011:46)
Plestiodon indubitus (Taylor, 1933) (in part); Feria-Ortiz & García-Vázquez (2012:57–58, 63–64, 66, 68, Table 1)
Etymology. The specific Latin name is treated as a participle in the nominative singular and means bathed, clean, elegant. It makes reference to the appearance of the new species, characterized by having fainter lines than its geographically closest congeners.
Carlos J. Pavón Vázquez, Adrián Nieto Montes De Oca, Andrés A. Mendoza Hernández, Eric Centenero Alcalá, Samuel A. Santa Cruz-padilla and Víctor H. Jiménez Arcos. 2017. A New Species of Plestiodon (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Balsas Basin, Mexico. Zootaxa. 4365(2); 149–172. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4365.2.3
