A new and very spiny lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: Echinosaura ) from the Andes in northwestern Ecuador

PeerJ

article

Mario H. Yánez-Muñoz¹  Omar Torres-Carvajal³  Juan P. Reyes-Puig¹  Miguel A. Urgiles-Merchán¹  Claudia Koch⁴ 

[1] Unidad de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad;Fundación Ecominga Red de Protección de Bosques Amenazados, Fundación Oscar Efrén Reyes, Departamento de Ambiente;Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador;Herpetology

关键词: High resolution x-ray tomography;    Osteology;    Phylogeny;    Skull;    South America;    Spined tegu;    Squamata;    Systematics;    Taxonomy;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12523

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

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).

【 授权许可】

CC BY