Cryptic, Sympatric Diversity in Tegu Lizards of the Tupinambis teguixin Group (Squamata, Sauria, Teiidae) and the Description of Three New Species. Murphy, J. C., Jowers, M. J., Lehtinen, R. M., Charles, S. P., Colli, G. R., Jr, A. K. P., Hendry, C. R., & Pyron, R. A. PLOS ONE, 11(8):e0158542, August, 2016.
Cryptic, Sympatric Diversity in Tegu Lizards of the Tupinambis teguixin Group (Squamata, Sauria, Teiidae) and the Description of Three New Species [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Tegus of the genera Tupinambis and Salvator are the largest Neotropical lizards and the most exploited clade of Neotropical reptiles. For three decades more than 34 million tegu skins were in trade, about 1.02 million per year. The genus Tupinambis is distributed in South America east of the Andes, and currently contains four recognized species, three of which are found only in Brazil. However, the type species of the genus, T . teguixin , is known from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (including the Isla de Margarita). Here we present molecular and morphological evidence that this species is genetically divergent across its range and identify four distinct clades some of which are sympatric. The occurrence of cryptic sympatric species undoubtedly exacerbated the nomenclatural problems of the past. We discuss the species supported by molecular and morphological evidence and increase the number of species in the genus Tupinambis to seven. The four members of the T . teguixin group continue to be confused with Salvator merianae , despite having a distinctly different morphology and reproductive mode. All members of the genus Tupinambis are CITES Appendix II. Yet, they continue to be heavily exploited, under studied, and confused in the minds of the public, conservationists, and scientists.
@article{murphy_cryptic_2016,
	title = {Cryptic, {Sympatric} {Diversity} in {Tegu} {Lizards} of the {Tupinambis} teguixin {Group} ({Squamata}, {Sauria}, {Teiidae}) and the {Description} of {Three} {New} {Species}},
	volume = {11},
	issn = {1932-6203},
	url = {http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158542},
	doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0158542},
	abstract = {Tegus of the genera  Tupinambis  and  Salvator  are the largest Neotropical lizards and the most exploited clade of Neotropical reptiles. For three decades more than 34 million tegu skins were in trade, about 1.02 million per year. The genus  Tupinambis  is distributed in South America east of the Andes, and currently contains four recognized species, three of which are found only in Brazil. However, the type species of the genus,  T .  teguixin , is known from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (including the Isla de Margarita). Here we present molecular and morphological evidence that this species is genetically divergent across its range and identify four distinct clades some of which are sympatric. The occurrence of cryptic sympatric species undoubtedly exacerbated the nomenclatural problems of the past. We discuss the species supported by molecular and morphological evidence and increase the number of species in the genus  Tupinambis  to seven. The four members of the  T .  teguixin  group continue to be confused with  Salvator merianae , despite having a distinctly different morphology and reproductive mode. All members of the genus  Tupinambis  are CITES Appendix II. Yet, they continue to be heavily exploited, under studied, and confused in the minds of the public, conservationists, and scientists.},
	number = {8},
	urldate = {2016-11-04TZ},
	journal = {PLOS ONE},
	author = {Murphy, John C. and Jowers, Michael J. and Lehtinen, Richard M. and Charles, Stevland P. and Colli, Guarino R. and Jr, Ayrton K. Peres and Hendry, Catriona R. and Pyron, R. Alexander},
	month = aug,
	year = {2016},
	keywords = {Chin, Cryptic speciation, Femur, Legs, Lizards, New species reports, Termites, Toes},
	pages = {e0158542}
}

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