Biology:Pholidobolus montium
| Pholidobolus montium | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gymnophthalmidae |
| Genus: | Pholidobolus |
| Species: | P. montium
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pholidobolus montium (Peters, 1863)
| |
Pholidobolus montium, commonly known as the mountain pholiodobolus, cuilán, or miner lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae.[2] It is endemic to the highlands of the northern Ecuadorian and southern Colombian Andes.[3]
Description
Pholidobolus montium is a small, diurnal terrestrial lizard. Adult males reach an average snout-vent length (SVL) of approximately 56 mm, while females are slightly larger, reaching up to 66 mm.[3] They exhibit grey-black iridescent dorsal color patterns, a pale yellow dorsolateral stripe, and a distinctive white-cream lip stripe that extends backward toward the forelimbs.[3]
Unlike many other lizard clades, P. montium completely lacks femoral follicular glands, a physiological trait it shares with only one other member of its genus, Pholidobolus prefrontalis.[3]
Habitat and ecology
The species inhabits open shrubby areas, alpine environments, and urbanized regions at high elevations. It is frequently found hiding in natural or man-made burrows, rock piles, stone walls, and agave fence rows, leading to its local name "miner lizard".[3] It is a diurnal species that spends a significant portion of its day foraging and basking to thermoregulate.[3]
Reproduction
Breeding occurs continuously throughout the year. Females deposit clutches of two eggs per reproductive cycle.[3] Pholidobolus montium frequently utilizes communal nesting sites where multiple females deposit eggs together, suggesting a complex level of social aggregation.[3]
Behavior and communication
Historically, semi-fossorial (burrowing) gymnophthalmid lizards were believed to communicate almost exclusively through chemical and olfactory cues[3]. However, a comprehensive 2021 behavioral study published an ethogram of 34 distinct behaviors for P. montium, establishing it as the first semi-fossorial gymnophthalmid documented to rely extensively on visual signaling.[3]
Conforming with the absence of pheromone-secreting femoral glands, P. montium uses several distinct visual displays during conspecific (same-species) social interactions:
- Hand-waving (Leg-waving): One of the most frequent and immediate responses when encountering another lizard or its own reflection in a mirror. The lizard raises a single forelimb and moves it in a distinct waving motion to signal its presence or status.[3]
- Neck-arching: A postural display where the lizard rigidifies and arches its neck downward or upward during social standoffs.[3]
- Tail-undulation: Actively waving or undulating the tail in a fluid motion, which serves as a visual signal during conspecific stimulus events rather than a anti-predatory distraction.[3]
References
- ↑ Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. 2015. Pholidobolus montium (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T44578680A115386433. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T44578680A44578689.en. Downloaded on 01 August 2019.
- ↑ Pholidobolus montium at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 31 July 2019.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Poma-Soto, Franco; Narváez, Andrea E.; Romero-Carvajal, Andrés (2021). "Visual Signaling in the Semi-Fossorial Lizard Pholidobolus montium (Gymnophthalmidae)". Animals 11 (11): 3022. doi:10.3390/ani11113022. PMID 34827756.
Wikidata ☰ Q5251351 entry
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