Liolaemus cranwelli (Donoso-Barros)

Pincheira-Donoso, Daniel, Scolaro, J. Alejandro & Sura, Piotr, 2008, A monographic catalogue on the systematics and phylogeny of the South American iguanian lizard family Liolaemidae (Squamata, Iguania), Zootaxa 1800, pp. 1-85 : 54

Liolaemus cranwelli (Donoso-Barros)

Pelusaurus cranwelli Donoso-Barros 1973a: 133 (type locality: Nueva Moka, Santa Cruz, Bolivia); Vanzolini 1986: 13; Fugler 1989: 61; Etheridge 1995: 34; Etheridge & Espinoza 2000: 5; Pincheira-Donoso 2002b: 21.

Liolaemus cranwelli Laurent 1982c: 9 ; Verrastro et al. 2003: 109; Sura 2005: 428.

Liolaemus wiegmannii Etheridge 2000: 310 (nomina dubia).

Observations: Liolaemus cranwelli is one of the most controversial species of the genus, mainly because it was established on the basis of a single male museum specimen ( Donoso-Barros 1973a; Etheridge 2000). There is no information on the living colour pattern of the species and the female is entirely unknown. Over the last decade, the debate on the validity of this species has increased ( Etheridge 2000; see also Etheridge & Espinoza 2000). Etheridge (2000) suggested that L. cranwelli may be a synonym of L. wiegmannii . Nevertheless, further studies are needed to clarify the problem. Unfortunately, because it is currently unfeasible to gather information on the variation of L. cranwelli , powerful conclusions might not be possible yet.

Additionally, it is necessary to clarify some aspects concerning the exact type locality of this species. In his monograph, Etheridge (2000) pointed out that the only known specimen of L. cranwelli was collected in “Macho Moka, Santa Cruz, Bolivia ”, and that the distribution of this taxon would be “about 470 km north of the Sierra de Santa Bárbara....., from Macho, Nueva Moka, in the department of Santa Cruz, southeastern Bolivia ”. However, this information is partially misleading, because “Macho” is not a geographical point, but the Spanish word “male”. In the original publication, Donoso-Barros (1973a) detailed “Holotipo: 3632 M.A.C.N. Macho, Nueva Moka, Santa Cruz, Bolivia ”, which really means “ Holotype: 3632 M.A.C.N. Male [individual], [collected in] Nueva Moka, Santa Cruz, Bolivia ”. Consequently, the type locality of L. cranwelli is “Nueva Moka, Santa Cruz, Bolivia ”, and the proposed distribution provided by Etheridge (2000) should be “about 470 km north of the Sierra de Santa Bárbara....., from Nueva Moka, in the department of Santa Cruz, southeastern Bolivia ”.