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| Marisora sp. McCranie, Matthews & Hedges, 2020 |
Abstract
The skink genus Marisora ranges from Mexico to northern South America and occurs on some islands in the Caribbean Sea. We conducted a revision of the genus Marisora from Mexico and Central America, using new morphological and molecular data, and find support for the five previously described species (Marisora alliacea, M.aurulae, M. brachypoda, M. magnacornae, and M. roatanae) and describe four new species: Marisora lineola sp. nov., M. aquilonaria sp. nov., M. syntoma sp. nov., and M. urtica sp. nov. We show that two species previously known only from Central American islands, M. magnacornae and M. roatanae, also occur on the adjacent mainland and that two species recently placed in Alinea belong to this evolutionary clade: Marisora berengerae n. comb. and Marisora pergravis n. comb. Together with M. falconensis and M. unimarginata, these 13 species of Marisora arose mostly in the Pliocene and are largely allopatric but are sympatric and nearly sympatric at several locations in Central America where they maintain their morphological and genetic distinctiveness.
Keywords: Reptilia, reptile, skink, evolution, systematics, taxonomy, classification, ecology, conservation, reproduction, biogeography, Middle America
James R. McCranie, Amy J. Matthews and S. Blair Hedges. 2020. A Morphological and Molecular Revision of Lizards of the Genus Marisora Hedges & Conn (Squamata: Mabuyidae) from Central America and Mexico, with Descriptions of Four New Species. Zootaxa. 4763(3); 301–353. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4763.3.1
