A new cryptic species of Anolis lizard from northwestern South America (Iguanidae, Dactyloinae)

Abstract

A new species of <i>Anolis</i> lizard from the Andean slopes of southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, from between 1187 and 2353 m in elevation, is described. The new species can be distinguished from other <i>Anolis</i> in squamation, cranial osteology, hemipenial morphology, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The new species is sister to <i>Anolisaequatorialis</i>, and it is suggested that previous records of <i>A.aequatorialis</i> in Colombia correspond to the new species described herein.