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

Abstract

A new species of Anolis 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 Anolis in squamation, cranial osteology, hemipenial morphology, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The new species is sister to Anolisaequatorialis , and it is suggested that previous records of A.aequatorialis in Colombia correspond to the new species described herein.