Ctenonotus cristatellus (C. Dumeril and Bibron, 1837)

Nicholson, Kirsten E., Crother, Brian I., Guyer, Craig & Savage, Jay M., 2012, 3477, Zootaxa 3477, pp. 1-108 : 41

Ctenonotus cristatellus Species Group

Diagnosis. — Support for this group is provided by 59 apomorphies including six morphological and 53 molecular ones. There is one unequivocal morphological feature: female dewlap to arms or shorter (17: 2 to 1). There are 26 unequivocal molecular apomorphies (see Appendix II).

Definition. — Lizards of this species group are small to moderate-sized dactyloids (maximum snout-to-vent length in adult males 44 to 82 mm, in females 36 to 73 mm) sharing the following combinations of characters: 1) posterior suture of dentary variable, blunt or pronged; 2) middorsal scales on snout not in a regular pattern; 3) prefrontal usually in contact with nasal; 4) quadrate lateral shelf usually absent; 5) usually some lower jaw sculpturing in large adult males, absent in C. evermanni ; 6) Type II karyotype: 2N = 26 (12M, 2v, 12m), xy heteromorphism, N.F. = 44 in C. evermanni ; 27/28 (12M, 4v, 11 or 12m), 29/30 (12M, 2v or 4v, 13/14 or 15/ 16m), 31/32 (12M, 2v, 17/ 18m), N.F. = 43/44 or 45/46, xxy sexual heteromorphism in nine other species.

Content. — This species group contains thirteen species and a total of 17 species and subspecies (see Appendix III).

Distribution. — Turk and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and its satellite islands, Mona Island, and the Virgin Islands ( Fig. 24).

Introductions. — Ctenonotus cristatellus to Dominican Republic, Cozumel Island off the Yucatan, Costa Rica and southern Florida.