A New Subspecies of Lizard, Cnemidophorus sacki, from Michoacán, MéxicoDuellman, William Edward
Science
A New Subspecies of Lizard, Cnemidophorus sacki, from Michoacán, México
Duellman, William Edward
Lizards
In subadults (± 80 mm. snout-vent length) the paravertebral stripes
are fragmented into spots posteriorly. Also, the dorsolateral stripes
in some individuals are fragmented posteriorly. The dorsolateral dark
fields are somewhat paler than the lateral dark fields. Cream-colored
spots are present on the flanks. The mottling on the thighs tends
towards the formation of light spots (Fig. 2 C).
In small adults (± 100 mm. snout-vent length) the paravertebral
stripes are entirely fragmented into spots. The lateral and
dorsolateral stripes are broken into spots posteriorly. The middorsal
pale area (formed by the suffusion of the vertebral stripe) and
paravertebral and dorsolateral rows of spots are pale green. The
cream-colored spots on the flanks are expanded to form vertical bars
(Fig. 2 D).
Large adult males (± 120 mm. snout-vent length) have all of the
stripes fragmented into spots. The diffuse middorsal area is expanded
and encloses the paravertebral rows of spots. The pale spots present
in the dark fields in smaller individuals are either absent or fused
with spots resulting from the fragmentation of the stripes (Fig. 2 E).
_Sexual dimorphism._--Males attain a larger size (known maximum
snout-vent length of 132 mm., as compared with 114 mm. in females).
Males have larger but not more numerous, femoral pores, blue bellies,
and pink and blue throats, whereas females are unicolor creamy white
ventrally. The more nearly complete metamorphosis of color pattern
exhibited by adult males probably is correlated with their large adult
size. Large females retain complete lateral and dorsolateral stripes.
The jowls of breeding males are swollen.
[Illustration: Color Pattern Change Diagram]
~Fig. 2.~ Diagrammatic representation of ontogenetic change in color
pattern in _Cnemidophorus sacki zweifeli_: A--hatchling, 34 mm.
snout-vent length; B--juvenile, 55 mm. snout-vent length;
C--subadult male, 80 mm. snout-vent length; D--small adult male,
100 mm. snout-vent length; E--large adult male, 120 mm. snout-vent
length.
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