Foreword 



The Liolaeminae (Iguania: Tropiduridae) is a large clade of small to moderate-sized lizards that 

 live in primarily arid and serruand habitats throughout most of austral South America. They are a 

 conspicuous component of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna wherever they occur, and many localities are 

 occupied by several species. As this bibliography clearly indicates, lizards of the Liolaeminae have 

 been the focus of intense interest by biologists for more than a century. 



In 1989, Frost and Etheridge proposed formal recogmtion of Liolaeminae as a subfamily of 

 the iguanian family Tropiduridae. Although species of Liolaeminae have been coupled with a large 

 number of generic names (see Taxonomy), Etheridge (1995) recognized only three as valid: 

 Ctenoblepharys (1 species), Phymaturus (10 species) and Liolaemus (- 150 sjiecies). 

 Ctenoblepharys adspersa is an arenicolous insectivore confined to the Pacific beaches of central 

 Peru, where it occurs in isolation from other Liolaeminae. Phymaturus are saxicolous, herbivorous 

 lizards that live at high elevations in the Andes of central Chile and Argentina, and along the volcanic 

 mesetas in central and southern Argentina. Throughout its range Phymaturus occurs sympatrically 

 with one or more species of Liolaemus. The number of valid species of Liolaemus as of this writing 

 stands at appro.ximately 150 — the uncertainty resulting from diffenng opinions on the validity of some 

 forms. Eleven species have from two to five subspecies. Incredibly, the number oi Liolaemus has 

 been growing at a rate of about four new species each year for the past decade (Fig. 1), and at least 20 

 manuscnpt names known to us are now in preparation. 



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Fig. 1 . Number of 

 Liolaemus taxa 

 described over time. 

 Only taxa that are 

 currently considered 

 valid are. Incredibly, 

 the rate of new-species 

 descriptions has 

 averaged 2.7 per year 

 since 1970 and has 

 nsen to 3.5 per year 

 within the last decade. 



Liolaemus 

 ranges from 

 northern central 

 Peru southward 

 through Bolivia, 

 Chile, and 

 Argentina to 

 northern Tierra del Fuego, and up the Atlantic coast of Uruguay and southeastern Brazil. Members of 

 this genus occur at elevations from sea level to over 5000 m. In body size they range from 45 to just 

 over 100 mm snout- vent length, with body masses from three to nearly 40 g. Liolaemus may be 

 insectivorous or herbivorous, but the majority of species appear to be omnivores. The reproductive 

 mode of Ctenoblepharys is unknown, but it is probably oviparous. Phymaturus are viviparous, as 

 are about half the species of Liolaemus, whereas the remaining species deposit eggs in varying stages 

 of embryonic development. The majority of liolaemine lizards live in arid or semiarid habitats, but the 

 distributions of some Liolaemus extend into the humid forest of southern Chile, and along the 

 Atlantic coast including several Brazilian islands. Liolaeminae are almost entirely terrestrial, with 

 most being microhabitat generalists, but some are highly specialized morphologically: 

 Ctenoblepharys adspersa and some Liolaemus for life on aeolian sand, and Phymaturus and some 



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