#abronia

Oaxacan Arboreal Alligator Lizard (Abronia oaxacae), family Anguidae, endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico

An Oaxacan arboreal alligator lizard (Abronia oaxacae) in Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abronia graminea [Mexican alligator lizard] with Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly wings and morning glories ✨🧚💜🦋

The main piece for September’s Patreon rewards! This beauty will be made into prints and vinyl stickers~ Join before Sept 30th to receive them in the mail 💙

A New Species of Abronia (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Sierra de Zongolica of Veracruz, Mexico

Uri Omar García-Vázquez, Adam G. Clause, Jorge Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Erasmo Cazares-Hernández, Miguel Ángel de la Torre-Loranca

Abstract

We describe a new arboreal alligator lizard species in the genus Abronia from the Sierra de Zongolica in west-central Veracruz, Mexico. The new species is presently known only from the vicinity of the type locality. 

It is diagnosable from all congeners by the following combination of characters: one occipital scale, two primary temporal scales contacting the postocular series, moderately protuberant posterolateral head scales, lack of protuberant or spine-like supra-auricular scales, 30–34 transverse dorsal scale rows, dorsal scales on the flanks arranged in slightly oblique longitudinal rows relative to the ventrolateral fold, and lateralmost ventral scale row unexpanded relative to the adjacent medial row. 

The new species occurs sympatrically with Abronia graminea, but genomic data assign it to the oaxacae group as the sister species of A. oaxacae, a finding that is corroborated by morphological evidence. We briefly discuss the regional biogeography of arboreal Abronia and comment on the Sierra de Zongolica as a complex transitional area of high species richness and conservation importance.

Read the paper: 

here’s the first batch of pics from one of my trips to the reptile store.^^

that was the first time i saw an abronia in real life,and it was stunning!!😍

i got to hold a gorgeous albino ball python,i wish i could have bought him but i don’t have the money/supplies yet to get one.😭

then there were some cute frogs,and a beautiful tegu.☺️ they also had some blue iguanas and they were very pretty!

and they had the tiniest baby day geckos! i put my finger up to the glass for scale lol.

Awkward Botanical Sketches #5: Leaves of Yellowstone Edition

Earlier this month, I met up with Eric LoPresti and others at Yellowstone National Park to help take a census of Abronia ammophila, a rare plant endemic to the park and commonly referred to as Yellowstone sand verbena. Abronia (a.k.a. the sand-verbenas) is a small genus of plants in the family Nyctaginaceae that is native to western North America. Several species in the genus have fairly limited…