Open AccessA new and very spiny lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: Echinosaura) from the Andes in northwestern Ecuador
Author(s) -
Mario H. Yánez-Muñoz,
Omar TorresCarvajal,
Juan Pablo Reyes-Puig,
Miguel Urgilés-Merchán,
Claudia Koch
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.12523
Subject(s) - osteology , lizard , phylogenetic tree , biology , skull , dorsum , squamata , genus , zoology , anatomy , evolutionary biology , gene , biochemistry
We describe a new species of Neotropical spiny-lizard of the genus Echinosaura from the Imbabura and Carchi Provinces on the western slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador. The new species mostly resembles E. horrida . However, it can be distinguished from all congeners by having keeled enlarged dorsal scales forming a paired vertebral row, two paravertebral series of short oblique rows of projecting scales, and a pair of spine-like scales on temporal and nuchal regions. We also provide a detailed description of the osteology of the skull and pectoral girdle of the new species and present a phylogenetic hypothesis for Echinosaura based on three mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, ND4) and one nuclear gene (c-mos).