A new species of Phymaturus of the P. mallimaccii Group from the Andes of central Chile (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

Abstract

© 2014 Departamento de Ciências Biológicas - ESALQ - USP. A new species of Phymaturus from the Provincia Mountain in the San Ramón Mountains in the Metropolitan Region of Chile is described. It is a member of the P. palluma Group and the P. mallimaccii subgroup. The new species can be distinguished from other members of the P. mallimaccii subgroup by having a highly fragmented subocular scale (4 or 5), a preocular scale that is smaller than the canthal, males having a olive dorsum with a diffuse pattern of light bands on the paravertebral fields and a light triangle between the shoulders, which has the apex of the triangle oriented toward the snout. The distribution of new species lies south of that of other members of the P. mallimaccii subgroup, from which it is completely isolated. The low abundance of the new species is noteworthy. Information about the natural history of the lizard is provided and some aspects of unnamed populations of Chilean Phymaturus are discussed.