A New Genus of Microteiid Lizard from the Caparaó Mountains, Southeastern Brazil, with a Discussion of Relationships among Gymnophthalminae (Squamata)

Abstract

A new genus and species of microteiid lizard is described based on a series of specimens obtained at Parque Nacional do Caparaó (20u289S, 41u499W), southeastern Brazil, along the division line between the States of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The new lizard occurs in isolated highaltitude, open, rocky habitats above the altitudinal limits of the Atlantic forest. It is characterized by the presence of prefrontals, frontoparietals, parietals, interparietal, and occipital scales; ear opening and eyelid distinct; three pairs of genials; absence of collar; lanceolate and mucronate dorsal scales; six regular transverse and longitudinal series of smooth ventrals that are longer than wide, with the lateral ones narrower. Maximum parsimony (MP) and partitioned Bayesian (PBA) phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and molecular characters with all known genera of Gymnophthalminae (except for Scriptosaura) plus Rhachisaurus recovered this new lizard in a clade having Colobodactylus and Heterodactylus as its closest relatives. Both analyses recovered the monophyly of Gymnophthalminae and Gymnophthalmini. The monophyly of the Heterodactylini received moderate support in MP analyses but was not recovered in PBA. To eliminate classification controversy between these results, the present concept of Heterodactylini is restricted to accommodate the new genus, Colobodactylus and Heterodactylus, and a new tribe Iphisiini is proposed to allocate Alexandresaurus, Iphisa, Colobosaura, Acratosaura, and Stenolepis. Current

Description and Phylogenetic Relationships of a New Genus and Species of Lizard (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) from the Amazonian Rainforest of Northern Brazil

“…Such advance is partially the result of cumulative efforts to reconstruct supraspecific phylogenetic relationships among microteiid taxa. Understanding of microteiid relationships has improved with the use of molecular (Pellegrino et al, 2001;Castoe et al, 2004;Doan and Castoe, 2005) or a combination of molecular and morphological approaches (Rodrigues et al, , 2009). In the present study, we analyzed overall morphology of the new taxon, described above, and conducted a phylogenetic analysis to determine the placement of the new genus and test its relationships with representatives of the Alopoglossinae, Gymnophthalminae, and Cercosaurinae (especially with those from the Ecpleopodini tribe sensu Pellegrino et al, 2001).…”

“…In their analyses, the Ecpleopodines formed a well-supported clade (PP = 1.0), sister to a more inclusive one containing members of the Gymnophthalminae and the Cercosaurinae. Castoe et al (2004) gave the clade subfamily status Ecpleopodinae (given by them as "Ecpleopinae"; but see Rodrigues et al, 2009 for corrected spelling). did not adopt the classification proposed by Castoe et al (2004) on the basis of "preliminary evidence provided by an extensive morphological study of gymnophthalmids" and therefore retained Ecpleopodini as a tribe of the Cercosaurinae.…”

“…New species are still found on a regular basis (e.g., Ávila-Pires, 1995;Ávila-Pires and Vitt, 1998;Köhler et al, 2004;Kok, 2005Kok, , 2009Rivas et al, 2005;Rodrigues and Ávila-Pires, 2005), whereas some are so peculiar that generic placement is not always an easy task (Harris and Rueda, 1985;Kok, 2009). As a result, new genera are commonly described to accommodate single species (Myers and Donnelly, 2001;Kok, 2005Kok, , 2009Rodrigues et al, , 2007Rodrigues et al, , 2009Rodrigues and Santos, 2008), rendering a rather large number of monotypic taxa within the family.…”

“…After detailed examination and comparison with several microteiid genera, coupled with phylogenetic analyses of morphological and molecular data, we concluded that a new species and a new genus should be proposed to accommodate these specimens. Here, the new genus and species are named, described and associated with the Ecpleopodini (sensu Pellegrino et al, 2001;, but see Rodrigues et al, 2009, for corrected spelling of "Ecpleopini").…”

Morfologia hemipeniana dos lagartos microteídeos e suas implicações nas relações filogenéticas da família Gymnophthalmidae (Teiioidea: Squamata)

“…A família Gymnophthalmidae é composta por cerca de 220 espécies, alocadas em 48 gêneros (Pellegrino et al, 2001;Doan, 2003;Doan & Castoe, 2005;Kok, 2005;2009a;2009b;2009c;Uetz et al, 2011) e reúne lagartos de pequeno a médio porte (de 4 a 15 cm de comprimento rostro-cloacal) que se distribuem do sul do México à Argentina, além do Caribe e outras ilhas das Américas do Sul e Central (Pellegrino et al, 2001). São animais diurnos e de hábitos bastante diversos, que ocupam uma grande variedade de habitats (terrestre, fossorial, semi-aquático e semiarborícola).…”