Deiroptyx occulta (Williams and Rivero, 1965)

Nicholson, Kirsten E., Crother, Brian I., Guyer, Craig & Savage, Jay M., 2012, 3477, Zootaxa 3477, pp. 1-108 : 25

Deiroptyx occulta Species Group

Diagnosis. — Support for this group is provided by 147 apomorphies including 25 morphological and 122 molecular ones. There are 18 unequivocal morphological apomorphies: maximum male snout-to-vent length decreased (1: k to c); head length decreased (4: q to l); preoccipital scales usually absent (33: a to g); scales in supraorbital disk about equal in size (41: 0 to 4); modal number of enlarged sublabial scales zero (44: 2 to 0); modal number of postxiphisternal inscriptional ribs 5:0 (47: 6 to 3); modal number of sternal ribs two (48: 1 to 0); interclavicle T-shaped (50: a to z); modal number of presacral vertebrae 23 (51: 0 to 1); modal number of caudal vertebrae anterior to first autotomic vertebra five (53: 4 to 2); supraoccipital crest with distinct lateral processes (55: 0 to 1); prefrontal usually present (62: a to g); prefrontal separated from nasal by frontal and maxilla (63: a to z); frontal separated from nasal by open gap (64: 0 to 1); epipterygoid usually separated from parietal (70: a to w); posteriormost tooth usually completely anterior to mylohyoid foramen (81: n to x); angular process of articular reduced or absent (82: a to z); anteriormost aspect of posterior border of dentary within mandibular fossa (84: n to z); no splenial (85: 0 to 1); and coronoid labial process absent (88: z to a). There are 70 unequivocal molecular apomorphies (see Appendix II).

Definition. — The single species placed in this species group is a relatively small form (snout-to-vent length in adult males to 42 mm and to 40 mm in adult females) distinctive in the following combination of features: 1) dorsal surface of skull smooth; 2) dewlap large in both sexes, base extending beyond axilla onto venter; 3) no splenial; 4) dorsal scales, small, round, and smooth; 5) ventral scales cycloid, juxtaposed and in transverse rows, larger than dorsal scales; 6) Type I karyotype: 2N = 36 (24M, 24m), N.F. = 48; no sexual heteromorphism.

Content. — A single species, Deiroptyx occulta , is referred to this species group (see Appendix III).

Distribution. — Puerto Rico ( Fig. 13).

Remarks. — We are accepting the topology of the molecular tree that places D. occulta as the basal sister group to all other Deiroptyx . We think that its position on the combined tree is an anomaly in which the morphological peculiarities of this lizard overrode the molecular signal.