A NEW SPECIES OF MICROTEGU (GYMNOPHTHALMIDAE: CERCOSAURINAE) OF THE CORDILLERA DEL CÓNDOR, ECUADOR

Abstract

We describe a new species of lizard of Selvasaura genus from Cordillera del Cóndor, in southeastern Ecuador. The new species is morphologically different from the other three species of Selvasaura mainly in its smaller body size (SVL: male 32.4 mm, female 33.5 mm) and coloration patterns; from the geographically closest species S. almendarizae, it differs mainly by having pentagonal frontoparietal scales, a higher number of transversal scales on the neck, and a longitudinal dorsal stripe more homogenous and weakly delimited by black. Phylogenetically, the new species is inferred within the genus Selvasaura as sister species of S. almendarizae, although this relationship has a low posterior probability. With this description, we recognize four species of Selvasaura, two of which are reported from Ecuador. The new species is known from two localities in the Cordillera del Cóndor that have serious threats such as large-scale mining and land-use change, among others.