Two new species of <em>Japalura</em> (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Hengduan Mountain Range, China

Kai WANG; Ke JIANG; Da-Hu ZOU; Fang YAN; Cameron D. SILER; Jing CHE

doi:10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2016.1.41

Volume 37 Issue 1

Jan. 2016

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Kai WANG, Ke JIANG, Da-Hu ZOU, Fang YAN, Cameron D. SILER, Jing CHE. Two new species of Japalura (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Hengduan Mountain Range, China. Zoological Research, 2016, 37(1): 41-56. doi: 10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2016.1.41

Citation:

Kai WANG, Ke JIANG, Da-Hu ZOU, Fang YAN, Cameron D. SILER, Jing CHE. Two new species of Japalura (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Hengduan Mountain Range, China. Zoological Research, 2016, 37(1): 41-56. doi: 10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2016.1.41

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Two new species of Japalura (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Hengduan Mountain Range, China

doi: 10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2016.1.41

1 Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Yunnan 650223, China;
2 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73072-7029, U.S.A.;
3 Tibet University, Lhasa Tibet 850000, China

Funds: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2014FY210200, 2011FY120200) and the Animal Branch of the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species of Chinese Academy of Sciences (the Large Research Infrastructure Funding).

More Information

Corresponding author: Kai WANG, Jing CHE
Received Date: 2015-11-12
Rev Recd Date: 2015-12-10
Publish Date: 2016-01-18

Abstract

Abstract

Until recently, the agamid species, Japalura flaviceps, was recognized to have the widest geographic distribution among members of the genus occurring in China, from eastern Tibet to Shaanxi Province. However, recent studies restricted the distribution of J. flaviceps to the Dadu River valley only in northwestern Sichuan Province, suggesting that records of J. flaviceps outside the Dadu River valley likely represent undescribed diversity. During two herpetofaunal surveys in 2013 and 2015, eight and 12 specimens of lizards of the genus Japalura were collected from the upper Nujiang (=Salween) Valley in eastern Tibet, China, and upper Lancang (=Mekong) Valley in northwestern Yunnan, China, respectively. These specimens display a unique suite of diagnostic morphological characters. Our robust comparisons of phenotype reveal that these populations can be distinguished readily from J. flaviceps and all other recognized congeners. Herein, we describe the two Japalura lineages as new species, Japalura laeviventris sp. nov. and Japalura iadina sp. nov.. In addition, we provide updated conservation assessments for the new species as well as imperiled congeners according to the IUCN criteria for classification, discuss the importance of color patterns in the diagnosis and description of species in the genus Japalura, and discuss directions for future taxonomic studies of the group.
- Coloration,
- Conservation,
- Hengduan Mountains,
- Hydropower development,
- Japalura flaviceps

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References(42)

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