Chromosomes and the Systematics of the Family Teiidae (Sauria, Reptilia)

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH)is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Copeia.Chromosomes of 17 species of teiid lizards, currently assigned to 11 genera were studied. Karotypes divided the Teiidae into three major groups. Dracaena, Callopistes, Crocodilurus, and Tupinambis have 2n = 34-38 chromosomes including five or six pairs of large metacentric macrochromosomes and a series of much smaller microchromosomes. Ameiva and its relatives (Cnemidophorus, Teius, Dicrodon, and Kentropyx) have 2n = 46-56 chromosomes, general absence of a distinct break between macroand microchromosomes, and a majority of large chromosomes acrocentric. Within the Ameiva group only Dicrodon and Teius have 2n above 52. Two "microteiids," Anadia bitaeniata and Pholidobolus montium have 2n = 46 chromosomes with a marked break between 10 pairs of macrochromosomes and 13 pairs of microchromosomes; many of the macrochromosomes are two-armed.Evolutionary pathways among these three groups are discussed. The general karyotype found in Dracaena and its relatives is found in many other lizard families, and often in the most primitive representatives of those families. This karyotype is considered primitive for the Teiidae. The karyotypes of Ameiva and its relatives are presumed to have evolved through centric fissions of the metacentric macrochromosomes from this primitive state. The microteiid karyotype is most similar to that of the Ameiva group and may have arisen through pericentric inversions in some of the acrocentric macrochromosomes of the ancestral stock.There is a distinct gap between the karotypes of all teiids studied to date and the karyotypes of the presumably closely related lacertids.

Comparative study of sperm ultrastructure of five species of teiid lizards (Teiidae, Squamata), and Cercosaura ocellata (Gymnophthalmidae, Squamata)

“…A number of morphological characters support the division of Teiidae (sensu Presch) into two groups, Teiinae and Tupinambinae, including external morphology ( Vanzolini and Valencia, 1965), chromosomes ( Gorman, 1970), osteology ( Presch, 1974 andVeronese andKrause, 1997), and myology ( Rieppel, 1980). In support of this view, we identified two unique traits distinguishing Teiinae from Tupinambinae: presence of five sets of mitochondrial tiers and ring structures, and dense bodies fused in the ring structures in the Teiinae.…”

“…Aspidoscelis was recently resurrected by Reeder et al (2002), based on molecular, allozymic, and morphological data, comprising the whiptails from Central and North America (deppii, sexlineata, and tigris groups). Despite several attempts to clarify the relationships among teiid genera using morphological data ( Vanzolini and Valencia, 1965, Gorman, 1970, Presch, 1974, Rieppel, 1980, Veronese and Krause, 1997and Moro and Abdala, 2000, this issue is still largely unresolved.…”

Esqueleto pré-sacral e sacral dos lagartos teiêdeos (Squamata, Teiidae)

“…Assim, as diferenças osteológicas aqui analisadas levam a dividir os teiídeos em dois grupos: Grupo J -composto por cinco gêneros, a saber, Ameiva, Cnemidophorus, Kentropyx, Dicrodon e Teius; Grupo II -composto por quatro gêneros, respectivamente Calfopistes, Crocodilurus, Dracaena e Tupinambis. Este agrupamento concorda com as propostas de PRESCH (1970de PRESCH ( , 1974, GORMAN (1970,1973) e MACLEAN (1974, que analisaram os teiídeos em diferentes aspectos.…”

Cytogenetic studies of four Brazilian species of teiid lizards (Squamata, Teiidae)

“…GORMAN (1970) proposed a systematic classification which divided the Teiidae into three groups based on the chromosomes of its members. Group 1 is formed by the genera Dracaena, Callopistes, Crocodilurus and Tupinambis which have a chromosome complement of 2n = 34-38 made up of 5 to 6 pairs of metacentric macrochromosomes and a satellite in chromosome pair 2.…”