~University of Kansas Publications~
~Museum of Natural History~
Vol. 10, No. 9, pp. 587-598, 2 figs.
May 2, 1960
A New Subspecies of Lizard, Cnemidophorus sacki, from Michoacan, Mexico
BY
WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN
~University of Kansas~ ~Lawrence~ 1960
~University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History~
Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Robert W. Wilson
Volume 10, No. 9, pp. 587-598, 2 figs. Published May 2, 1960
~University of Kansas~ Lawrence, Kansas
PRINTED IN THE STATE PRINTING PLANT TOPEKA, KANSAS 1960
28-2494
A New Subspecies of Lizard, Cnemidophorus sacki, from Michoacan, Mexico
BY
WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN
The systematic status of the populations of lizards assignable to _Cnemidophorus sacki_ in western Mexico (Sonora southward to Jalisco) has been reviewed in detail by Zweifel (1959, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, 117 (2):57-116), who stated that the use of the specific name _sacki_ for the western populations rests upon a reasonable, but as yet unproved, assumption that intergradation occurs. Although Zweifel examined specimens of the nominal subspecies from the upper Balsas Basin, he did not study specimens from the intervening area--the Tepalcatepec Valley in Michoacan.
Field studies and the examination of large series of preserved specimens of _Cnemidophorus_ from the Tepalcatepec Valley show the presence of _Cnemidophorus sacki_ in the region between the ranges of _C. sacki sacki_ in the upper Balsas Basin and _C. sacki occidentalis_ in Jalisco and southern Nayarit. Furthermore, the populations of _sacki_ inhabiting the Tepalcatepec Valley have characters of scutellation and coloration that distinguish them from other described subspecies of _sacki_. In recognition of the important contributions to the systematics of the genus _Cnemidophorus_ made by Dr. Richard G. Zweifel, I propose that the subspecies of _Cnemidophorus sacki_ in the Tepalcatepec Valley be named as follows:
+Cnemidophorus sacki zweifeli+ new subspecies
_Holotype._--University of Michigan Museum of Zoology No. 119542, from Capirio, Michoacan, Mexico (185 meters), an adult male, one of a series collected on June 13, 1958, by William E. Duellman, Jerome B. Tulecke, and John Wellman. Original number WED 12310.
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: A New Subspecies of Lizard, Cnemidophorus sacki, f
- 2: Scutellation typical of sacki four supraoculars
- 3: A single hatchling UMMZ 114732 is available
- 4: Sacki zweifeli in the Tepalcatepec Valley
- 5: Sacki occidentalis in Tables 1 3 are from Zweifel 1959
- 6: Cnemidophorus sacki occidentalis
- 7: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology UMMZ