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| Phymaturus fiambala
Lobo, Hibbard, Quipildor & Valdecantos, 2019
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The northernmost distributed group of lizards belonging to Phymaturus occurs in rocky outcrops of the Puna region between 3600–4200 m in Argentina. In a recent phylogenetic study based on morphological and genetic information, the monophyly of this small lineage was corroborated. This group is formed by Phymaturus antofagastensis, P. laurenti, P. denotatus, P. mallimaccii and a population of uncertain taxonomic status until the present study. After obtaining new samples and observations, we described a new species belonging to this lineage that is known only from Sierra de Fiambalá, being the species of Phymaturus living at the highest elevation ever recorded (4500 m). Males have a homogeneous yellow dorsum and lack melanic coloration over their heads, a phenomenon found in males of most species of the palluma group. We provide a detailed diagnosis, including characters from the squamation, coloration and significant differences found among continuous characters (ANOVA). Furthermore, we present genetic distances among members of the mallimaccii subclade based on sequences of the cytb marker. We provide color photos showing pattern variation of males and females. We reanalyze the phylogenetic relationships within the entire palluma group and update info on all members of the antofagastensis lineage based on new samples and make a better supported hypothesis. We also evaluate the phylogenetic position of the new taxon.
Key words: Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov., Taxonomy, Squamata, Liolaemidae, Argentina.
TAXONOMY:
Family Liolaemidae Frost and Etheridge, 1989
Genus Phymaturus Gravenhorst, 1838
Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov. Lobo, Hibbard, Quipildor & Valdecantos
Phymaturus sp5: Lobo et al. 2012: 21.
Phymaturus sp. fia: Lobo et al. 2016: 650.
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| Fig. 1. (A) Dorsal view of the holotype of Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov. IBIGEO 5756. (B) Ventral view of the same specimen (Photos: M. Quipildor). |
Diagnosis: Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov. Doral pattern with very thin spray, throats and chests light gray, rostral scales always undivided. Males with enlarged postcloacal scales, females with slender white transversal lines over trunk, enlarged scales on posterior gular fold, a patch of enlarged scales between gular folds evident, vertebral stripe absent.
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Etymology: The species inhabits Sierra de Fiambalá (Fiambalá mountains). The toponym Fiambalá comes from an ancient language (Cacán) of natives who lived in northwestern Argentina before Quechua (Inca) and Spanish became dominant. “Cacán” voice: fiambalao (fiambal = wind; ao = house, place), meaning “house of winds”.
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| Fig. 6. Color in life of species of the Phymaturus antofagastensis lineage (males). (A) Phymaturus antofagastensis (Photo: S. Nenda); (B) Phymaturus laurenti (Photo: F. Lobo); (C) Phymaturus denotatus (Photo: D. Slodki); (D) Phymaturus mallimaccii (Photo: C. Abdala). |
CONCLUSIONS:
Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov. belongs to the antofagastensis lineage because it shares synapomorphies with all other members of the lineage: four discrete and three continuous characters (presence of flank color in females, loss of scale organ in mental, dark sides of neck speckled with small white spots among them) plus eight DNA changes. Phymaturus fiambala sp. nov. males exhibit yellow tails continuing the same color of trunks, different from all other members of the mallimaccii subclade, which is composed of males that exhibit brown tails (yellow tails are found in the vociferator clade, and the roigorum subclade). Furthermore, we found morphological and molecular evidence that allows us to differentiate P. fiambala sp. nov. from other species within antofagastensis lineage. Our present phylogenetic analysis provides a new hypothesis of relationships within the mallimaccii subclade that allow for more confident studies on evolutionary comparisons and the biogeography of these Andean lizards in the future.
Lobo Fernando, Thomas Hibbard, Matías Quipildor and Soledad Valdecantos. 2019. A New Species of Lizard Endemic to Sierra de Fiambalá, Northwestern Argentina (Iguania: Liolaemidae: Phymaturus). Integrated Taxonomy Using Morphology and DNA Sequences: Reporting Variation Within the antofagastensis Lineage. Zool. Stud. 58:.. DOI: 10.6620/ZS.2019.58-20
