Zootaxa, a New Species of Night-Lizard of the Genus Lepidophyma

Zootaxa, a New Species of Night-Lizard of the Genus Lepidophyma

Zootaxa 1750: 59–67 (2008) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2008 · Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) A new species of night-lizard of the genus Lepidophyma (Squamata: Xantusiidae) from the Cuicatlán Valley, Oaxaca, México LUIS CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ1, GUADALUPE GUTIÉRREZ-MAYEN2 & ANDRÉS ALBERTO MENDOZA-HERNÁNDEZ1 1Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-399, C. P. 04510, México, D. F., México 2Escuela de Biología, Laboratorio de Herpetología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, C.P. 72570, Puebla, Puebla, Méx- ico Abstract A new species of Lepidophyma from the Biosphere Reserve area of Tehuacan-Cuicatlan, Oaxaca, Mexico, is described. This new species, Lepidophyma cuicateca sp. nov., is known from two areas in the Cuicatlan Valley. Lepidophyma cuicateca sp. nov. is a member of the Lepidophyma gaigeae species Group and is characterized by its small body size, small size of tubercular body scales, poorly differentiated caudal whorls and interwhorls, and relatively large dorsal, ven- tral and gular scales. It lives in shady places, below rocks along the Apoala River, and is commonly found in plantain, sapodilla, cherimoya, mango and coffee plantations, as well as tropical deciduous forest. The description of L. cuicateca sp. nov. increases the number of species in the L. gaigeae Group to five. Key words: Squamata, Lepidophyma gaigeae Group, Lepidophyma cuicateca sp. nov., new species, Xantusiidae, Mex- ico, Oaxaca Resumen Se describe una nueva especie de Lepidophyma para la parte oaxaqueña de la reserva de la biosfera de Tehuacán- Cuicatlán. Esta especie es conocida para dos áreas de la Cañada de Cuicatlán. La nueva especie parece estar más rela- cionada con aquellas especies del grupo Lepidophyma gaigeae, caracterizada por su pequeño tamaño, ausencia de micro- tubérculos en la superficie dorsal, escamas agrandadas separadas por escamas pequeñas en la cola debilmente diferenciadas, escamas dorsales, ventrales y gulares relativamente grandes. Habita en lugares sombríos, bajo amon- tonamientos de roca a lo largo del Río Apoala, en donde existen árboles frutales (platanares, zapote, chirimoyas y mango), así como algunos cafetales y en la selva baja caducifolia. Con la descripción de esta nueva especie, el grupo Lepidophyma gaigeae esta constituido ahora por cinco especies. Palabras clave: Squamata, Grupo Lepidophyma gaigeae, Lepidophyma cuicateca sp. nov., Nueva especie, Xantusiidae, México, Oaxaca Introduction The systematics of the genus Lepidophyma has received little attention since the works of Smith (1939, 1973), Bezy (1984) and Bezy and Camarillo (1992). However, in a recent systematic revision of the genus, Bezy and Camarillo (2002) recognized seventeen species, ranging from Nuevo León and Michoacán, México to Pan- Accepted by S. Carranza: 25 March 2008; published: 16 Apr. 2008 59.

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