''Abronia deppii'', Deppe's arboreal alligator lizard, is an
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
arboreal alligator lizard
''Abronia'' is a genus of lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus is native to northern Central America, occurring mainly in Guatemala and Mexico. However, there are species that occur as far south as El Salvador and Honduras, for example, '' A ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Anguidae. The species was described in 1828 by
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (2 June 1802 – 15 January 1841) was a German zoology, zoologist and Herpetology, herpetologist born in Braunschweig.
He studied medicine and philology at the University of Leipzig, and afterwards was an assistant ...
, and it is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''deppii'', is in honor of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
naturalist Ferdinand Deppe
Ferdinand Deppe (1794–1861) was a German naturalist, explorer and painter. He was born and died in Berlin.
Deppe travelled to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion o ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Abronia deppii'', p. 70).]
Geographic range
''A. deppii'' is found in the mountains of the Mexican states of
Guerrero and
Morelos
Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...
.
[
]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''A. deppii'' is forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
.
Description
Dorsally, ''A. deppii'' is black and white.[
]
Reproduction
''A. deppii'' is viviparous
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ... Anguidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (''Gerrhonotus deppii'', pp. 269–270).
* Flores-Villela O, Sánchez-Herrera O (2003). "A New Species of ''Abronia'' (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero, Mexico, with Comments on ''Abronia deppii'' ". ''Herpetologica'' 59 (4): 524–531.
* Liner EA (2007). "A Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of México". ''Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University'' 80: 1-60. (''Abronia deppii'', p. 20).
*Sánchez-Herrera O, López-Forment W (1980). "The lizard ''Abronia deppii'' (Sauria: Anguidae) in the state of México, with the restriction of its type locality". ''Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society'' 16 (3): 83–87.
* Schmidt-Ballardo W, Solano-Zavaleta I, Clause AG (2015). "''Abronia deppii''. Reproduction". ''Mesoamerican Herpetology'' 2 (2): 192–194.
* Wiegmann AF (1828). "''Beiträge zur Amphibienkunde'' ". ''Isis von Oken'' 21 (4): 364–383. (''Gerrhonotus deppii'', new species, pp. 379–380). (in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
).
*Wiegmann AFA (1834). ''Herpetologia Mexicana, seu descriptio amphibiorum Novae Hispaniae, quae itineribus comitis de Sack, Ferdinandi Deppe et Chr. Guil. Schiede in Museum Zoologicum Berolinense pervenerunt. Pars prima, saurorum species amplectens. Adiecto systematis saurorum prodromo, additisque multis in hunc amphibiorum ordinem observationibus''. Berlin: C.G. Lüderitz. vi + 54 pp. + Plates I-X. (''Gerrhonotus deppii'', pp. 31–32 + Plate IX, figures 3 & 4). (in Latin).
Abronia
Reptiles described in 1828
{{lizard-stub