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| Selvasaura evasa Echevarría, Venegas, García-Ayachi & Nunes, 2021 Photographs by L. Y. Echevarría and P. J. Venegas. |
Abstract
We describe a new species of Selvasaura from the montane forests of the eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru, based on external and hemipenial morphological characters and previous phylogenetic analyses. The new species can be differentiated from the other two Selvasaura species in having keeled dorsal scales usually flanked by longitudinal striations, in adults and juveniles; adult males with a yellow vertebral stripe bordered by broad dark brown stripes on each side and a unilobed hemipenis surrounded by the branches of the sulcus spermaticus. The description of the new species contributes information about new states of diagnostic characters of Selvasaura and natural history.
Key Words: Arboreality, Bromeliad, Gymnophthalmidae, Hemipenial morphology, Peruvian Yungas ecoregion, Taxonomy
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| Figure 2. Dorsolateral (A) and ventral (B) views of Selvasaura evasa sp. nov. holotype, CORBIDI 15119, in life. Photographs by L.Y. Echevarría. |
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| Figure 3. Paratypes of Selvasaura evasa sp. nov.: dorsolateral (A) and ventral (B) views of adult female CORBIDI 15118; dorsolateral (C) and ventral (D) views of adult male CORBIDI 18900; dorsolateral (E) and ventral (F) views of juvenile CORBIDI 19955. Photographs A, B by L. Y. Echevarría and C–F by P. J. Venegas. |
Selvasaura evasa sp. nov.
Unnamed Clade 3 (Torres-Carvajal et al. 2016) in part.
Selvasaura sp. (Moravec et al. 2018) in part.
Selvasaura sp. (Torres-Carvajal et al. in press) in part.
Proposed Standard English Name: Elusive Microtegus
Proposed Standard Spanish Name: Microtegúes elusivo
Diagnosis: Selvasaura evasa sp. nov. can be distinguished from S. brava (character states in parentheses) by having 0–3 lateral rows of reduced scales at midbody (6–7); 9–12 femoral pores in males (7–9); keeled dorsal scales, usually flanked by longitudinal striae in adults and juveniles (slightly rugose in adults and slightly keeled in juveniles); ventral surface of tail orange in adult males (yellowish white); and a unilobed hemipenis (bilobed). Selvasaura evasa sp. nov. can be distinguished from S. sp. Ecuador (character states in parentheses) by having a larger size, SVL 41.9–46.1 mm, n = 3, in adult males (maximum SVL 39.7 mm); keeled dorsal scales, usually flanked by longitudinal striae (striated); 33–38 transverse rows of dorsal scales (25–32); 10–12 longitudinal rows of ventral scales at midbody (8–10); 9–10 scales on collar (7–9); a yellow vertebral stripe with broad dark brown stripes on each side in adult males (cream or gray with scattered black marks along sides).
Etymology: The specific epithet evasa is derived from the Latin adjective ēvāsa meaning scaped and refers to the evasive nature of this species. The first specimens of Selvasaura evasa sp. nov. were collected in 2014 despite continuous surveys, since 2003 in 20 localities along the montane forests of Amazonas and San Martín departments, it is only known from four localities.
Lourdes Y. Echevarría, Pablo J. Venegas, Luis A. García-Ayachi and Pedro M. Sales Nunes. 2021. An Elusive New Species of Gymnophthalmid Lizard (Cercosaurinae, Selvasaura) from the Andes of northern Peru. Evolutionary Systematics. 5(2): 177-187. DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.5.68520
