Medopheos edracantha (Bocourt, 1874)

Cuadrado, Stefania S., Loor, Yelsin A. & Narváez, Andrea E., 2020, Herpetofauna of Engabao, Playas Canton, Ecuador, with notes on the occurrence of Ceratoprhys stolzmanni (Steindachner, 1882), Check List 16 (3), pp. 665-674 : 669-670

Medopheos edracantha (Bocourt, 1874)

Figure 2F

Material examined. ECUADOR, province of Guayas, Playas Canton, Engabao • 1 individual (sex undeter- mined), 80 mm; moderate vegetation, near livestock; 02° 36′36″S, 080°26′12″W; 12 m a.s.l; 27 Apr. 2019; Stefania S. Cuadrado, Yelsin A. Loor leg.; UG-R165.

Identification. This teiid has the following characteristics: frontal scale unique or divided into two; eight longi- tudinal rows of ventral scales; males with spine-shaped scales on each side of the preanal region; these lizards can reach a cloacal face length of 94 mm ( Peters 1964; Harvey et al. 2012).

This was the least-sighted lizard species, recorded only at site A, in a grassy area near the cattle enclosure. This species was active and foraging between 11:00 am and 14:30. We also detected shelter holes in the area.

Distribution. This species is distributed in the western Andes of Ecuador and Peru ( Harvey et al. 2012). In Ecuador, it has been reported from the provinces of Loja, Manabí, Guayas, and El Oro ( Andrango 2019).