''Abronia matudai'', Matuda's arboreal alligator lizard, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
arboreal alligator lizard
''Abronia'' is a genus of lizards, known colloquially as alligator lizards, in the family Anguidae that is native to Mexico and Central America. The majority of the species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Anguidae
Anguidae refers to a large and diverse family of lizards native to the Northern Hemisphere. It contains 9 genera and 89 extant species. Common characteristics of this group include a reduced supratemporal arch, striations on the medial faces of t ...
. The species, which was originally described in 1946 by
Norman Hartweg and Joseph Tihen, is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''matudai'', is in honor of
Eizi Matuda, a Japanese-born Mexican
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
.
Geographic range
''A. matudai'' is native to southwestern
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
and southeastern
Chiapas
Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
.
[
]
Habitat
''A. matudai'' is found at elevations of .[
]
Description
Dorsally
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...
, ''A. matudai'' is green in life (fading to blue gray in alcohol), with about 11 dark crossbars on the head and body, and a corresponding number on the tail. The holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and the tail is approximately the same length.[ Tihen JA (1954). "Gerrhonotine Lizards Recently Added to the American Museum Collection, with Further Revisions of the Genus ''Abronia'' ". ''American Museum Novitates'' (1687): 1-26. (''Abronia matudai'', pp. 25-26, Figure 7).]
Reproduction
''A. matudai'' is viviparous
In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Hartweg N, Tihen JA (1946). "Lizards of the Genus ''Gerrhonotus'' from Chiapas, Mexico". ''Occasional Papers, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology'' (497): 1–16. (''Gerrhonotus matudai'', new species, pp. 3–5).
*Tihen JA (1949). "The Genera of Gerrhonotine Lizards". ''American Midland Naturalist'' 41: 579–601. (''Abronia matudai'', new combination, p. 591).
Reptiles of Guatemala
Reptiles of Mexico
Abronia
Reptiles described in 1946
Taxa named by Norman Edouard Hartweg
{{Anguidae-stub