''Phymaturus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

iguania Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s of 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 ...

Liolaemidae Liolaemidae are a family of iguanian lizards. They are traditionally included in the Iguanidae as subfamily Liolaeminae, which some more recent authors prefer to delimit in a more restricted way. A common name for this group is liolaemids. Liolae ...

, a family which was traditionally included in the

Iguanidae The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaph ...

as a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, but more recently was proposed to warrant family status in the

. ''Phymaturus'' is the mid-sized genus of its family, with 50

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 ...

altogether known as of 2021; new species are still being discovered, however.Scolaro et al. (2008).

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 the genus ''Phymaturus'' are found in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

region south to

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

and inhabit a variety of

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 ...

s. Their habits are mostly conserved from the ancestral iguanians, in that ''Phymaturus'' are generally inhabitants of rocky ground, feed on

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

s, and give birth to fully developed young.

Systematics

The genus can be divided into two lineages, which probably represent

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

s: ''palluma'' group : Superciliar scales not

imbricate Aestivation or estivation is the positional arrangement of the parts of a flower within a flower bud before it has opened. Aestivation is also sometimes referred to as praefoliation or prefoliation, but these terms may also mean vernation: the ar ...

, more than four subocular scales, 3-4 rows of lorilabial scales,

mental scale The mental scale, or mental, in snakes and other scaled reptiles refers to the median plate on the tip of the lower jaw.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . It is a triang ...

narrower than

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

and usually touching the sublabial scales. Tail spines well-developed, two annuli per segment. ''patagonicus'' group :Superciliar scales elongate and overlapping, one usually unfragmented subocular scale, tail smooth, Meckel's groove fused and closed. More species which may or may not belong to the aforementioned species groups: ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Phymaturus''.

Footnotes

References

* (2011). "Two new mountain lizard species of the ''Phymaturus'' genus (Squamata: Iguania) from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina". ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

'' 2924: 1-21. (in English with Spanish abstract)
PDF abstract
* (1838). "''Beiträge zur genaueren Kenntniss einiger Eidechsgattungen'' ". ''Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae'' 18: 712-784 + Plates LIV-LVI. (''Phymaturus'', new genus, pp. 749–750). (in German). * (2008). "When starvation challenges the tradition of niche conservatism: On a new species of the saxicolous genus ''Phymaturus'' from Patagonia Argentina with pseudoarboreal foraging behaviour (Iguania, Liolaemidae)". ''

'' 1786: 48-60. (in English with Spanish abstract)
PDF abstract
{{Authority control Lizard genera Lizards of South America Taxa named by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst