''Abronia matudai'', Matuda's arboreal alligator lizard, is a
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
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 ...
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
Anguidae refers to a large and diverse family of lizards native to the Northern Hemisphere. Common characteristics of this group include a reduced supratemporal arch, striations on the medial faces of tooth crowns, osteoderms, and a lateral fold ...
. The species, which was originally described in 1946 by
Norman Hartweg and Joseph Tihen, 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
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
.
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 ...
, ''matudai'', is in honor of
Eizi Matuda
(1894–1978) was a Mexican botanist of Japanese origin. In scholarly works his name is generally romanised
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) scri ...
, a Japanese-born Mexican
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
.
Geographic range
''A. matudai'' is native to southwestern
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
and southeastern
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
,
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 ...
.
[
]
Habitat
''A. matudai'' is found at elevations of .[
]
Description
Dorsally
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
, ''A. matudai'' is green in life (fading to blue gray in alcohol), with about 11 dark crossbars on the head and body, and a corresponding number on the tail. The holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and the tail is approximately the same length.[ Tihen JA (1954). "Gerrhonotine Lizards Recently Added to the American Museum Collection, with Further Revisions of the Genus ''Abronia'' ". ''American Museum Novitates'' (1687): 1-26. (''Abronia matudai'', pp. 25-26, Figure 7).]
Reproduction
''A. matudai'' 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
* Hartweg N, Tihen JA (1946). "Lizards of the Genus ''Gerrhonotus'' from Chiapas, Mexico". ''Occasional Papers, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology'' (497): 1–16. (''Gerrhonotus matudai'', new species, pp. 3–5).
*Tihen JA (1949). "The Genera of Gerrhonotine Lizards". ''American Midland Naturalist'' 41: 579–601. (''Abronia matudai'', new combination, p. 591).
Reptiles of Guatemala
Reptiles of Mexico
Abronia
Reptiles described in 1946
Taxa named by Norman Edouard Hartweg
{{Anguidae-stub