Norops valencienni (C. Dumeril and Bibron, 1837)

Nicholson, Kirsten E., Crother, Brian I., Guyer, Craig & Savage, Jay M., 2012, 3477, Zootaxa 3477, pp. 1-108 : 44-45

Norops valencienni Species Group

Diagnosis. — Support for this group is provided by 57 apomorphies including nine morphological and 48 molecular ones. There are two unequivocal morphological apomorphies: mean number of scales across the snout increased (29: f to i); and jaw sculpturing in large adults wrinkled (90: 0 to 5). There are 20 unequivocal molecular apomorphies (see Appendix II).

Definition. — Lizards of this species group are mostly small to moderate-sized anoles (maximum snout-to-vent length in adult males 53 to 80 mm, 44 to 65 mm in adult females; Norops garmani and N. reconditus are much larger forms with maxima of 131 and 100 mm in males and 80 and 84 mm in females, respectively). Members of this group share the following combinations of characters: 1) basipterygoid crest absent; tail crest present or absent in large males; 2) tail base usually round in cross section; 3) modal postxiphisternal inscriptional rib formula 3:1; 4) parietal foramen in parietal; 5) supratemporal processes leave supraoccipital exposed or not; 6) prefrontal usually contacts nasal; 7) lower jaw sculpturing in large adult males usually absent, some with wrinkling; 8) most species with Type V karyotypes: 2N = 30–37 with variable numbers of metacentric macrochromosomes, small biarmed ones, and telocentrics and 16 m, no sexual heteromorphism, N.F. = 44–43; two species ( N. conspersus , N. opalinus ) with type IV karyotype: N = 30 (14V, 16m), xy sexual heteromorphism, and N.F. = 44.

Content. — This species group contains seven species and a total of 11 species and subspecies (see Appendix III).

Distribution. — Jamaica and its satellite islands and Grand Cayman Island ( Fig. 26).

Introduction. — Norops garmani to Grand Cayman Island and Florida; N. grahami to Bermuda.