Line magellanicus

Laurent (1995a) proposed the monotypic subgenus Austroleamus for L. magellanicus (which was therefore designated as the type species). However, in later studies (e.g. Etheridge & Espinoza 2000) it has been considered a synonym of Liolaemus . Even though available evidence suggests that Liolaemus magellanicus would represent a phylogenetically independent line within the Liolaemus genus (see Fig. 4), additional evidence may be still required to recognize Austrolaemus as a valid subgenus. Following a strict phylogenetic criteria, Austroleamus should indeed be validated.