Viviana Isabel Juarez Heredia

From the far reaches of Patagonia: new phylogenetic analyses and description of two new species of the Liolaemus fitzingerii clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

Within the Liolaemus boulengeri group or ‘patch’ group, there is a monophyletic clade named Liolaemus fitzingerii group.This clade is composed of large Liolaemus individuals, mostly psammophilus, oviparous and mainly insectivorous, dis-tributed from central Rio Negro and Neuquen to the south of Santa Cruz in Argentine Patagonia. We make a taxonomicand phylogenetic revision of the L. fitzingerii clade, describe two new species of the group, compare these results withphylogenetic hypotheses from the literature, and discuss the geographic distribution of species of the L. fitzingerii clade.The new species described here inhabit central and central-eastern Chubut Province, Argentina. These new species areeasily distinguished from the other species of the L. fitzingerii group by a combination of morphological characters. Thephylogenetic analyses support the description of these new species, because they are not closely related to the species withwhich they were previously confused. According to a new phylogenetic analysis of the L. fitzingerii clade, one of the newspecies, L. camarones sp. nov., has a relatively basal position within the group, whereas the other new species, L. shehuen sp. nov., is sister taxon of L. chehuachekenk. With these two new species, the L. fitzingerii clade is now composed of nine species, all of which are distributed in Argentine Patagonia.

Taxonomía y filogenia de un grupo de lagartos amenazados: el grupo de Liolaemus anomalus (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

El genero Liolaemus, es uno de los grupos naturales con mayor cantidad de especies dentro de Iguania, esta formado por dos subgeneros y varios grupos monofileticos. Uno estos grupos es el grupo monofiletico de Liolaemus anomalus , uno de los clados con mayor cantidad de arreglos taxonomicos propuestos. El grupo de Liolaemus anomalus, se distribuye desde el centro sur de Catamarca hasta el suroeste de La Pampa, Argentina, tiene un escaso numero de especies que estan asociadas a ambientes aridos y salobres, con escasa vegetacion y expuestas a elevadas temperaturas. Son lagartijas oviparas e insectivoras y sin dimorfismo sexual. El grupo de Liolaemus anomalus esta formado por especies con baja densidad poblacional. Son lagartos muy dificiles de observar y varias especies y poblaciones estan amenazadas debido a factores antropicos. En este trabajo, se realiza una revision taxonomica y un analisis filogenetico del grupo de Liolaemus anomalus. En la matriz morfologica utilizada para los analisis filogeneticos, se describen nuevos caracteres informativos para el clado y el genero, que ayudan a clarificar las relaciones internas del grupo. Como apoyo a la metodologia cladistica, se realizaron analisis estadisticos (MANOVA), con el fin de efectuar un estudio detallado de los caracteres morfometricos. Tambien se realiza una redescripcion formal de Liolaemus anomalus y Liolaemus ditadai, con base en nuevos ejemplares colectados en diversas campanas y utilizando caracteres no analizados en la descripcion original. Ademas se describen tres nuevas especies para la ciencia, se aportan datos que actualizan el conocimiento de las diferentes especies que integran el grupo y se analizan las congruencias con las hipotesis filogeneticas presentadas por otros autores. Los resultados filogeneticos obtenidos aportan evidencia que justifican la descripcion de estas tres nuevas especies y se propone una nueva hipotesis de parentesco para el grupo de Liolaemus anomalus.

Mites in the Neotropical Lizard Liolaemus pacha (Iguania: Liolaemidae): Relation to Body Size, Sex and Season

Abstract. Parasites can significantly influence the health of the host by inhibiting important physiological and behavioral processes. Some factors like body size, age of host, sex, and season can influence parasite load in nature. Mites are ectoparasites that can occur in lizards, possibly having a negative impact on their host. Our goals were to identify the mite that infested the Neotropical lizard Liolaemus pacha and describe its anatomical distribution, evaluate if mite intensity affected lizard mass, assess the relationship between lizard body size and mite intensity, and calculate the prevalence and intensity of mites in these lizards, comparing males and females and the reproductive and non-reproductive seasons. We analyzed preserved specimens and also studied lizards in their natural environment. We performed linear regression analyses between the intensity of mite infestation and snout-vent length and between lizard mass and intensity of mite infestation. To compare the intensity of mite infestation between sex and season, we used the Mann-Whitney Test. The mite was identified as a species of Pterygosoma Peters, 1849 (Prostigmata: Pterygosomidae). Mite infestation was mainly in the ventral area, particularly in the guiar and lateral regions. Lizard body size did not explain the intensity of mite infestation, nor was lizard mass influenced by the intensity of mite infestation. Males in their natural habitat presented, on average, more mites than females, which might be related to differences in behavior. There were no differences between seasons. This study constitutes the second Argentine record of the presence of the ectoparasite Pterygosoma sp. in a Liolaemus species and the first that explores its relation to ecological parameters.

Aportes en el estudio del comportamiento y ecología de lagartijas de los géneros Liolaemus y Phymaturus (Iguania: Liolaemini)

Presentamos un resumen de investigaciones realizadas en su mayoria durante la ultima decada por nuestro grupo, sobre comportamiento y ecologia de lagartijas del genero Liolaemus y Phymaturus de Argentina. Llevamos a cabo estudios sobre su comunicacion, territorialidad, eleccion de pareja, funcion de la coloracion nupcial en hembras, relacion entre dieta y estado reproductivo, cuidado parental, y filogenia basada en el comportamiento de inmersion en arena. Describimos brevemente cada uno de estos temas y reportamos los resultados mas relevantes. Ademas del valor intrinseco de este tipo de estudios, ellos pueden proveer informacion valiosa que puede ser utilizada en la elaboracion de estrategias de manejo y conservacion de especies animales, particularmente en este grupo de Iguania en el que muchas especies son endemicas y a menudo poco conocidas.

Figure 9 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 9. Liolaemus camarones. Holotype. Adult male collected at a beach 3 km south of Camarones, Bahia Camarones, Florentino Ameghino Department, Chubut Province, Argentina. FML 23301.

Figure 8 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 8. Map showing the localities for the Liolaemus fitzingerii group from Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces, Argentina. Black square: Liolaemus shehuen sp. nov. Black triangle: L. camarones sp. nov. Black circle: L. fitzingerii. Black diamond: L. xanthoviridis (Black diamond with red center corresponds to the record of L. xanthoviridis by Minoli and Avila, 2011). Black star: L. chehuachekenk. White pentagon: L. melanops. White circle: L. canqueli. White diamond: Liolaemus sp. 14. White triangle: Liolaemus sp. 15.

Figure 4. Liolaemus Shehuen. Holotype. Adult Male Collected 60 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 4. Liolaemus shehuen. Holotype. Adult male collected 60 km west of Telsen, Telsen Department, Chubut Province, Argentina. FML 22191

Figure 3 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 3. Phylogenetic relationships within the Liolaemus boulengeri group based on the analysis made in the present study. In red, the L. fitzingerii clade in detail. Numbers above branches are values of symmetric resampling; numbers below branches show values of Jackknifing.

Figure 20 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 20. Adult male of Liolemus xanthoviridis from type locality, 18 km north of Dos Pozos, Chubut Province, Argentina.

Figure 2 In From The Far Reaches Of Patagonia: New Phylogenetic Analyses And Description Of Two New Species Of The Liolaemus Fitzingerii Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 2. Phylogenetic relationships within the Liolaemus boulengeri group, following Abdala (2007). In red, the L. fitzingerii clade in detail.