Bachia heteropa lineata ( Boulenger, 1903 )

Diago-Toro, María F., García-Cobos, Daniela, Brigante-Luna, Giovanni D. & Vásquez-Restrepo, Juan D., 2021, Fantastic lizards and where to find them: cis-Andean microteiids (Squamata: Alopoglossidae & Gymnophthalmidae) from the Colombian Orinoquia and Amazonia, Zootaxa 5067 (3), pp. 377-400 : 385

Bachia heteropa lineata ( Boulenger, 1903)

Distribution: Probably along the east face of the Cordillera de Los Andes and adjacent foothill in west Venezuela, southward Colombia. In Colombia there is a record from the northern Orinoquia in the Arauca department ( Fig. 4B ).

Similar species: This species can be differentiated from the Bachia flavescens species group in having hexagonal to lanceolate dorsal scales (quadrangular in B. flavescens group), and from those species in the B. bresslaui group by the presence of smooth dorsal scales (keeled in B. bresslaui species). Within the B. heteropa group it can be diagnosed in having two digits on the hindlimbs (normally four in B. alleni and B. trinitatis , and three in B. h. heteropa ); for possessing interparietal scale (absent in B. guianensis and B. remota ); and in having seven rows of gular scales (five in B. h. marcelae). For a detailed description and additional information see Dixon (1973) and Murphy et al. (2019).

Remarks: Here we are treating it as subspecies since we consider its erection to a specific level is not-conclusive (see Discussion section). Some phylogenies have suggested groups within Bachia are non-monophyletic ( Galis et al. 2010; Kohlsdorf et al. 2010), but here we are using them for practical identification purposes. Furthermore, this specimen corresponds to the first report of the subspecies for Colombia.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Distribution maps for the cis-Andean microteiid lizards in Colombia (Alopoglossidae + Gymnophthalmidae). Circles are examined specimens, while squares are records from literature (see Supplementary Files for specific references). Red arrows indicate new records for Colombia. Black arrows show a zoom in to regions where several records overlap. The light green shadow indicates the Orinoco River basin, and the dark green the Amazon River basin.