Morunasaurus peruvianus Köhler 2003

Torres-Carvajal, Omar, Etheridge, Richard & Queiroz, Kevin De, 2011, A systematic revision of Neotropical lizards in the clade Hoplocercinae (Squamata: Iguania), Zootaxa 2752, pp. 1-44 : 36-37

Morunasaurus peruvianus Köhler 2003

Proposed standard English name: Cenepa manticores

Proposed standard Spanish name: mantícoras del Cenepa

Morunasaurus peruvianus Köhler (2003:237) . Holotype: USNM 316725, from “vicinity of Kumpin entse, on Río Najem (tributary of the Río Huampami, which is a tributary of the Río Cena[e]pa), Departamento de Amazonas, Perú.”

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from Morunasaurus groi by having a discontinuous row of enlarged vertebral scales (row absent in M. groi ), and caudal whorls of spiny scales separated by two (ventrally) and three (dorsally) transverse rows of scales (three and four in M. groi , respectively). M. peruvianus differs from M. annularis (character states in parentheses) in having 3–4 femoral pores on each leg (usually two); five postrostrals (four); four postmentals (two), a larger body size (maximum SVL 153 mm versus 137 mm in males, 121 mm versus 118 mm in females); and dark streaks on throat in females (streaks absent).

Description. (1) dorsal head scales smooth, not projecting dorsally, some occipitals granular; (2) posterior superciliaries not enlarged relative to adjacent scales; (3) scales on lateral edge of skull roof just posterior to superciliaries not projecting; (4) all pretympanic scales similar in size; (5) gular scales granular or flat and smooth, juxtaposed or slightly imbricate, not projecting ventrally; (6) dorsal neck scales heterogeneous in size, granular or large and conical; lateral neck scales granular, homogeneous in size; (7) some vertebrals between the scapular and pelvic regions larger than adjacent dorsals, forming a distinct but discontinuous middorsal longitudinal row of enlarged, elliptical, smooth, and unraised scales; (8) nuchal region without distinct middorsal longitudinal row of enlarged scales; (9) dorsals smooth and heterogeneous in size, with largest scales more projecting and abundant on posterior half of body; (10) discontinuous longitudinal row of raised, enlarged scales between dorsals and flank scales present; (11) scales on flanks heterogeneous in size, mostly granular with a few scattered enlarged scales; (12) ventrals smooth; (13) fore limb scales smooth or slightly keeled dorsally and ventrally; (14) hind limb scales smooth or slightly keeled dorsally and ventrally; scattered conical, sharply pointed, enlarged scales present dorsally; scales of pes heterogeneous in size; (15) caudals heterogeneous, with scales making up the posteriormost whorl of each segment modified as conspicuous spines; (16) tail nearly circular in cross section. Meristic and morphometric characters are presented in Table 1 .

Coloration in life ( Fig. 4 ). Adult males (USNM 316725, holotype): dorsum dark brown with four dark, wide transverse bands that extend ventrally onto flanks; head black with a few scattered white and light blue scales laterally; yellow vertical bar extends dorsally from anterior insertion of fore limb to scapular region, where it becomes faint; flanks with yellow blotches that separate the dark bands that extend from dorsum; limbs light brown with scattered yellow scales; chin and gular region extensively covered by black mark that extends posteriorly as a wide midventral stripe that covers most of the ventral surface of body; venter light blue laterally; tail dark brown dorsally and laterally.

Females have pale brown gular regions with distinct dark brown streaks, and uniformly brown venters ( Köhler 2003).

Natural history. Similar to other species of Morunasaurus , this species seems to live in burrows in the forest floor (R.W. McDiarmid field notes, cited by Köhler 2003).

Distribution. Morunasaurus peruvianus occurs on the eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru at elevations between 200–300 m ( Fig. 11 ). This species is not known to occur in sympatry with other hoplocercines, although E. microlepis inhabits nearby localities.

Remarks. Morunasaurus peruvianus and M. annularis are very similar morphologically ( Köhler et al. 1999; Köhler 2003) and the maximum-likelihood corrected genetic distance between them (0.042) is low for an interspecific comparison (Torres-Carvajal & de Queiroz 2009). Additional morphological and molecular studies with samples from several populations are necessary to assess the taxonomic status of populations currently recognized as M. annularis and M. peruvianus more definitively.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Photographs of live lizards representing twelve species of Hoplocercinae.

FIGURE 11. Distribution of Morunasaurus annularis (triangles), M. groi (squares), and M. peruvianus (dots).