Pedioplanis laticeps (Smith, 1845)

Sebastian Kirchhof, Johannes Penner, Mark-Oliver Rödel & Johannes Müller, 2017, Resolution of the types, diagnostic features, and distribution of two easily confused Sand Lizards, Pedioplanis laticeps (Smith, 1845) and P. burchelli (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) (Squamata: Lacertidae), Zootaxa 4318 (1), pp. 82-109 : 101

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4318.1.3

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C7208E07-6474-42Dc-92Fd-98E27Ccd23D5

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5615713

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03E087E5-6920-FF8D-DFA8-FB05FE06E58B

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Pedioplanis laticeps
status

 

Comparison of P. laticeps and P. burchelli

The most informative characters to distinguish P. laticeps from P. burchelli were found to be (in combination): having 46 to 64 dorsal scale rows (64 to 80 in burchelli ) and 16 to 18 enlarged longitudinal ventral scale rows across the midbody at the median transverse ventral row (12 to 16 in burchelli ). In addition, P. laticeps usually has 3 bulging nasal scales on each side with the interior ones separated from each other (non-bulging or only slightly bulging and broadly in contact in burchelli ), five or more upper labials anterior to the subocular (mostly 4 in burchelli ), five or more pairs of chin shields (mostly 4 in burchelli ), 28–32 lamellae beneath the 4th toe (25–28 in burchelli ), and generally more and smaller granules around the supraoculars; particularly the inner row of granules around the supraoculars is always absent in burchelli .

Based on the re-description of P. laticeps and P. burchelli we conclude that BMNH 1988.512 collected as P. laticeps is in fact P. burchelli , as it has only 14 transverse ventral scale rows, 72 dorsal scale rows, only 10 granules in front of the supraoculars, only 4 chin shields. Additionally, specimen BMNH 1988.515 can be identified as Meroles knoxii as the subocular is separated from the lip by a labial scale, it has 3 scales rather than several small granules anterior to the first supraocular, and 4 chin shields of which only the first two are in contact along their entire interior edge ( Table 2 View TABLE 2 ).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Lacertidae

Genus

Pedioplanis

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