Proctoporus bolivianus is a gymnophthalmid lizard species that occurs at high elevations in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru and Bolivia. Extensive morphological variation in populations collected in the Department of Cusco, Peru, suggested the presence of cryptic species. To assess this possibility, we reconstructed morphological and molecular phylogenies of 13 populations of this species and also used a character-based approach to examine the morphology in more detail. We found P. bolivianus to be composed of three distinct lineages that are separated by substantial genetic distances. We erect two new species to contain unnamed lineages within the P. bolivianus complex. These three species are found within a small geographic area and are likely differentiated because of historical geographic barriers in the extreme landscape of the central Andes.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2003
USING MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR EVIDENCE TO INFER SPECIES BOUNDARIES WITHIN PROCTOPORUS BOLIVIANUS WERNER (SQUAMATA: GYMNOPHTHALMIDAE)
Tiffany M. Doan,
Todd A. Castoe
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
<
Previous Article
|
Herpetologica
Vol. 59 • No. 3
September 2003
Vol. 59 • No. 3
September 2003
Andes
cryptic species
Cusco
Gymnophthalmidae
new species
Peru
Proctoporus bolivianus