The description of the first rock-dwelling species of butterfly lizard Leiolepis Cuvier, 1829 (Squamata, Agamidae) from the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand

By

Wanchai, Pratyaporn
Rujirawan, Attapol
Murdoch, Matthew
Aksornneam, Akrachai
Promnun, Pattarapon
Kaatz, Amanda
Gregory, Jeren
Nguyen, Eddie
Iderstein, William Van
Quah, Evan Seng Huat
Grismer, Lee
Grismer, Jesse
Aowphol, Anchalee

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1210

Pages

299--324

Subjects

Conservation , Indochina , Leiolepis , phylogenetics , rock-dwelling

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1210.127557

 

Abstract

A new species of rock-dwelling Leiolepis is described from the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand. Leiolepis glaurungsp. nov. can be differentiated from all other sexual species of Leiolepis by a combination of having a black gular region with a wide medial yellow stripe, a yellow ventrum with black mottling, bright red to orange subcaudal coloration, having reduced to no expandable flanks, and having only one black transverse bar on the flanks. This is the first rocky habitat-adapted Leiolepis. Leiolepis glaurungsp. nov. demonstrates numerous ecological adaptations to survive in these rocky habitats. Leiolepis are known for their expandable flanks with bright display colors, however Leiolepis glaurungsp. nov. has reduced or no ability to expand its flanks. We hypothesize this is an adaptation to reduce their body diameter to better fit into smaller rocky burrows unlike the larger and deeper burrows constructed in looser soils by other Leiolepis species. This discovery increases the number of Leiolepis species in Thailand to six, and worldwide to 11.