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136
Amphib. Reptile Conserv. April 2015 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e91
Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
8(1) [Special Section]: 136–140 (e91).
Short Communication
First records of Anolis ventrimaculatus Boulenger, 1911
(Squamata: Iguanidae) in Ecuador
1Fernando Ayala-Varela, 2Julián A. Velasco, 3Martha Calderón-Espinosa, 4Alejandro F. Arteaga,
1,*Yerka Sagredo, and 1,†Sebastián Valverde
1Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Ponticia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Avenida 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Apartado 17-01-2184, Quito,
ECUADOR 2Laboratorio de Análisis Espaciales, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, MÉXICO D.F. 3Instituto de
Ciencias Naturales, Edicio 425, ocina 111, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, COLOMBIA 4Tropical Herping, Av Eloy Alfaro
N39-202 y José Puerta. Ed Montecatini. Quito, ECUADOR
Abstract.—We report the rst records of Anolis ventrimaculatus for Ecuador based on twelve
specimens from three localities: Chical (Provincia Carchi), El Cristal (Provincia Esmeraldas), and
Lita (Provincia Imbabura). The locality in the Provincia Carchi lies approximately 16 km S from the
nearest record (Ñambí, Department Nariño, Colombia). We also present information on scalation
and coloration.
Key words. Anole lizards, color, distribution, Ecuador, scalation
Citation: Ayala-Varela F, Velasco JA, Calderón-Espinosa M, Arteaga AF, Sagredo Y, Valverde S. 2015. First records of Anolis ventrimaculatus Bou-
lenger, 1911 (Squamata: Iguanidae) in Ecuador. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 8(1) [Special Section]: 136–140 (e91).
Copyright: © 2015 Ayala-Varela et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommer-
cialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use for non-commercial and education purposes only, in any medium, provided
the original author and the ofcial and authorized publication sources are recognized and properly credited. The ofcial and authorized publication
credit sources, which will be duly enforced, are as follows: ofcial journal title Amphibian & Reptile Conservation; ofcial journal website <amphibian-
reptile-conservation.org>.
Received: 13 December 2014; Accepted: 02 March 2015; Published: 04 April 2015.
Correspondence. Email: 1fpayala2000@gmail.com (Corresponding author), 2juvelas@gmail.com, 3mlcalderone@unal.edu.co,
*yevasanu@gmail.com, †lycus_87@hotmail.es
Ofcial journal website:
amphibian-reptile-conservation.org
Thirty-seven species of Anolis have been reported for-
mally from Ecuador (Ayala-Varela et al. 2014). Anolis
ventrimaculatus Boulenger 1911 was described from two
syntypes, an adult female and a juvenile from Río San
Juan, Department Risaralda, Colombia. Williams and
Duellman (1984) designated the adult female syntype
(BMNH 1946.8.13.5) as the lectotype.
Anolis ventrimaculatus is assigned to the aequatoria-
lis series Castañeda and de Queiroz (2013) by having a
moderate to large body size, narrow toe lamellae, small
head scales, smooth ventral scales, and uniform dorsal
scalation. It is assigned to the eulaemus-subgroup based
on a typical Anolis digit, in which the distal lamellae of
phalanx III distinctly overlap the rst proximal subdigital
scale of phalanx II (Williams 1976; Williams and Du-
ellman 1984; Castañeda and de Queiroz 2013).
Eleven species of the eulaemus-subgroup occur on
both sides of the Andes (Anolis anoriensis Velasco et al.
2010, A. antioquiae Williams 1985, A. eulaemus Bou-
lenger 1908, A. tchi Williams and Duellman 1984, A.
gemmosus O’Shaughnessy 1875, A. maculigula Wil-
liams 1984, A. megalopithecus Rueda-Almonacid 1989,
A. otongae Ayala-Varela and Velasco 2010, A. podocar-
pus Ayala-Varela and Torres-Carvajal 2010, A. poei Aya-
la-Varela et al. 2014, and A. ventrimaculatus Boulenger
1911).
Specimens examined for comparisons are housed in
the herpetological collections of the Museo de Zoología,
Ponticia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ec-
uador (QCAZ); Museo de Herpetología de la Universidad
de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia (MHUA); Colección
de Herpetología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali,
Colombia (UVC); and Instituto de Ciencias Naturales,
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
(ICN). External character terminology follows Williams
et al. (1995) and Poe and Yañez-Miranda (2008). Lamel-
lar number was counted using the method of Williams
et al. (1995), i.e., only on phalanges III and IV of the
137Amphib. Reptile Conserv. April 2015 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e91
Ayala-Varela et al.
fourth toe. Measurements were made with digital cali-
pers on preserved specimens and are given in millimeters
(mm), usually to the nearest 0.1 mm. Snout-vent length
(SVL) was measured from tip of snout to anterior edge
of cloaca. Femoral length was measured from midline
of venter to knee, with limb bent at a 90-degree angle.
Tail length was measured from anterior edge of cloaca
to distal point.
Herein we report the rst records of Anolis ventrimac-
ulatus (Fig. 1) for Ecuador based on specimens collected
at three localities. Four specimens (QCAZ 3284–3286,
8934) were collected on 16 September 1992 in Lita
(0.87°, -78.45°), Provincia Imbabura; four specimens
(QCAZ 2666, 3923, 3924, 3929) were collected on Au-
gust 1994 in El Cristal (0.83°, -78.49°, 1,200–1,250 m),
Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas, Provincia Es-
meraldas; and four specimens (QCAZ 4376, 4378, 4389,
4390) were collected on 03 July 2011 in Río San Pablo,
near Chical (0.90°, -78.16°, 1,399–1,451 m), Provincia
Carchi. The last locality lies approximately 16 km S from
the nearest record (ICN 11981-85, 11987-989, 12097,
Ñambí, Barbacoas municipality, Department Nariño,
Colombia) (Fig. 1, Table 1).
The individuals from Chical (Provincia Carchi) were
captured in secondary forest; all individuals were found
on leaves, branches, or ferns from 50–150 cm above
ground; a male were found head-down, while two fe-
males were found head-down and head-up. The small-
est specimen (QCAZ 8934, juvenile, SVL = 31.4 mm)
was collected on 16 September 1992. An adult female
(QCAZ 4378) collected in July 2011 deposited one white
egg (17.11 mm × 6.44 mm). Our collections of Anolis
ventrimaculatus in Ecuador were found from 1,200 to
1,451 m above sea level. In Ecuador, this species occurs
in sympatry with A. aequatorialis, A. gemmosus, and A.
maculiventris in Chical (Provincia Carchi); with A. lyn-
chi, A. maculiventris, and A. princeps (pers. obs. Sebas-
tián Valverde) in Lita (Provincia Imbabura), and with A.
lynchi in El Cristal (Provincia Esmeraldas).
Scalation and morphometric characters of Anolis ven-
trimaculatus are presented in Table 2. Scale counts are
similar between Ecuadorian and Colombian specimens.
Our Ecuadorian specimens of Anolis ventrimaculatus are
smaller than those from Colombia (maximum SVL 62
mm and 80 mm, respectively).
Coloration in life of specimens from Ecuador was re-
corded as follows:
Adult female (QCAZ 4390, Figs. 2 A, B): dorsal sur-
faces of head, body and tail dark brown; dorsal surface
of body with a pale brown longitudinal stripe extending
from occipital region to base of tail; limbs pale brown
with dark brown reticulation; tail pale brown; lateral sur-
face of head with two stripes, one dark brown and ex-
tending posteriorly from loreal region, through subocu-
lar region, above tympanum to level of the hind limb,
the other stripe is pale green and extending posteriorly
from loreal region, through subocular region, above tym-
panum to level of neck; lateral surface of body brown
anteriorly and olive-green near inguinal region; ventral
surface of head yellowish green with pale brown reticu-
lations; ventral surface of body cream; ventral surface of
limbs dark cream with dark brown reticulations; ventral
surface of tail dark cream.
Adult female QCAZ 4378 (Figs. 2 C, D) differs from
the previous pattern in having the dorsal surface of body
brown, with seven dark brown blotches arranged longi-
tudinally along the midline.
Adult male (QCAZ 4389, Figs. 2 E, F, G): When
stressed, the background of head, body, limbs and tail
was yellowish brown; dorsal surface of the neck with
two dark brown bands; dorsal surface of body with nine
dark brown blotches arranged longitudinally; limbs with
dark brown bands; dorsal surface of tail with dark brown
transversal bands, and with three dark brown blotches in
the proximal part of tail; lateral surface of head with a
darker brown rst stripe, extending posteriorly from lo-
real region, through subocular region, above the tympa-
num and bifurcating into branches that continue on nu-
chal crest and shoulder, respectively; a yellowish-green
second stripe, extending posteriorly from loreal region,
through subocular region, above the tympanum to the
shoulder; black ocelli with white centers on the shoul-
der; lateral surface of body with reddish-brown bands
oriented ventroposteriorly; ventral surface of head yel-
lowish green with pale brown reticulations; ventral sur-
face of neck pale green; ventral surface of body cream;
ventral surface of limbs pale brown with dark brown re-
Fig. 1. Distribution of Anolis ventrimaculatus in South America
(locality numbers are listed in Table 1).
138Amphib. Reptile Conserv. April 2015 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e91
First records of Anolis ventrimaculatus in Ecuador
Table 1. Localities of Anolis ventrimaculatus in Ecuador and Colombia.
Site number Country Locality Latitude Longitude Source
1 Colombia Bosque de San Antonio, km 18 vía Cali-Bue-
naventura, Valle del Cauca 3.22 -76.65 JAV pers. obs
2 Colombia Bosque de San Antonio, km 18 vía Cali-Bue-
naventura, Valle del Cauca 3.51 -76.62
UVC 9737, 9749, 9896,
MHUA 1671-79, JAV pers.
obs.
3 Colombia Antena, Cerro La Horqueta, ca. 28 km de Cali,
Valle del Cauca 3.44 -76.52 JAV pers. Obs, ICN 3567
4 Colombia Vereda La Tulia, Mpio. Bolívar, Valle del
Cauca 4.42 -76.24 JAV pers. obs
5 Colombia Vereda Chicoral, La Cumbre, Valle del Cauca 3.58 -76.58 JAV pers. obs, UVC 10223
6 Colombia PRN Barbas-Bremen, Mpio. Filandia, Quindio 4.71 -75.64 JAV pers. obs
7 Colombia Alrededores Lago Calima, Mpio. Darien, Valle
del Cauca 3.86 -76.56 JAV pers. obs; UVC 5189-96,
ICN 3553-54
8 Colombia Reserva Faunística Bosque de Yotoco, Valle
del Cauca 3.88 -76.44 JAV pers. obs
9 Colombia Peñas Blancas, Pichindé, Valle del Cauca 3.42 -76.66 UVC 223, 224
10 Colombia Alto de Galápagos, carretera Cartago-San José
del Palmar, Límite Valle-Chocó 4.86 -76.22 UVC 9366, UVC 8489-95
11 Colombia PMN Arrayanal, Mpio. Apia, Risaralda 5.29 -75.90 JAV pers. obs
12 Colombia PMN Planes de San Rafael, Mpio. Santuario,
Risaralda 5.13 -76.00 JAV pers. obs
13 Colombia PMN Agualinda, Mpio. Mistrató, Risaralda 5.12 -75.94 JAV pers. obs
14 Colombia PMN Verdum, vereda La Secreta, Risaralda 5.01 -76.03 JAV pers. obs
15 Colombia Vereda Buenos Aires, Cuenca Rio Barbo,
Pereira, Risaralda 4.73 -75.58 JAV pers. obs
16 Colombia Rio Ñambi, Nariño 1.30 -78.08 JAV pers. obs
17 Colombia Reserva La Planada, Nariño 1.08 -77.88 JAV pers. obs
18 Colombia Ñambí, Nariño 1.02 -78.07 ICN 11981-85, 11987-889,
12097
19 Ecuador Lita, Imbabura 0.87 -78.45 QCAZ
20 Ecuador El Cristal, Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi Cay-
apas, Esmeraldas 0.83 -78.49 QCAZ
21 Ecuador Río San Pablo, cerca de Chical, Carchi 0.90 -78.16 QCAZ
ticulations; ventral surface of tail pale brown with small
dark brown reticulations; dewlap skin yellowish brown;
gorgetals pale green; marginals and sternals yellowish
green; iris dark brown with yellowish-brown inner ring.
The coloration of populations of Anolis ventrimacula-
tus from Colombia display a dorsal surface of the body
that is bright emerald green, or greenish-brown with
slight darker oblique bars and yellow spots on each side
of the dorsal midline; yellow spots fuse forming a series
of saddle-shaped bars that cross the back and tail, more
visible in the stressed phase. At their stressed phase, dor-
sal and lateral surface of body brown with tiny yellow
spots; lateral surface of head with a yellow line under the
eye and with a prominent pale yellow or green line over
the lips extending back over the ear opening and along
the sides of the neck; ventral surface of head yellow-
green, sometimes with reticulations; ventral surface of
body cream to yellow-green, with dark brown spots on
the sides; ventral surface of tail orange in male adults.
Some females have a dorsal surface of body with a tan
longitudinal stripe and dark edges.
Anolis ventrimaculatus has a wide range of distri-
bution, approximately 570 km in airline between the
northern and southernmost localities. However, there is
a huge distributional gap between central and southern
Colombian populations (approximately 265 km airline
between Bosque de San Antonio, Department Valle del
Cauca and the Rio Ñambi, Department Nariño). One of
the main reasons for this gap is the lack of extensive her-
petological inventories in these areas, particularly in both
foothills of the Andes cordilleras. More sampling effort
should addressed to these areas with the aim to ll distri-
butional gaps in several species, including Anolis lizards.
Acknowledgments.—We thank Omar Torres-Carva-
jal of the Museo de Zoología (QCAZ), Vivian Paéz of the
Museo Herpetológico de Antioquia (MHUA), and John
Lynch of the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
(ICN) for the loan of museum specimens, information
about localities, and work space; Melissa Rodriguez for
helping with the map; O. Torres-Carvajal for critical and
valuable comments throughout the development of this
139Amphib. Reptile Conserv. April 2015 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e91
Ayala-Varela et al.
Fig. 2. Anolis ventrimaculatus from Ecuador: female adult
(A−B, QCAZ 4390) in dorsal and ventral view, female adult
(C−D, QCAZ 4378) in dorsal and ventral view, male adult
(E−F, QCAZ 4389) in dorsal and ventral view, male dewlap (G,
QCAZ 4389) in lateral view. Photographs by F. Ayala-Varela.
manuscript. This work was funded by Secretaría de Edu-
cación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del
Ecuador (SENESCYT). Ecuadorian specimens were col-
lected under collection permit 008-09 IC-FAU-DNB/MA
issued by Ministerio del Ambiente and were deposited
at Museo de Zoología (QCAZ), Ponticia Universidad
Católica del Ecuador. Julian Velasco thanks the Wildlife
Conservation Society for the support of eldwork in Co-
lombia under permits provided by CARDER (resolution
1085 of April, 6 2010)..
Literature Cited
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Ayala-Varela FP, Troya-Rodríguez D, Talero-Rodríguez
X, Torres-Carvajal O. 2014. A new Andean anole
species of the Dactyloa clade (Squamata: Iguanidae)
from western Ecuador. Amphibian & Reptile Conser-
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Ayala-Varela FP, Torres-Carvajal O. 2010. A new species
of dactyloid anole (Iguanidae, Polychrotinae, Anolis)
from the southeastern slopes of the Andes of Ecuador.
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140Amphib. Reptile Conserv. April 2015 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e91
First records of Anolis ventrimaculatus in Ecuador
Ecuador
QCAZ
Colombia
UVC, ICN, MHUA
Colombia
Williams et al. 1995
Number of scales between second canthals 14−17 (10) 15.7 12−17 (18) 14.6 11−21 (20)
Number of scales bordering rostral 5−7 (10) 6.4 6−8 (18) 6.8 6−10 (20)
Number of scales between supraorbital semicircles 2−5 (10) 3.6 4−6 (18) 4.8 2−6 (20)
Number of scales between interparietal and supraor-
bital semicircles 7−11 (8) 6.9 6−11 (18) 8.0 5−16 (20)
Interparietal +/− +/very small (+/?)
Number of loreal rows 5−8 (9) 7.9 7−9 (18) 8.2 7−11 (20)
Number of supralabials to center of eye 6−8 (10) 7.2 6−8 (18) 7.4 6−8 (20)
Number of postmentals 6−8 (9) 6.3 6−9 (18) 6.6 4−8 (20)
Number of sublabials in contact with infralabials 0−2 (9) 0.5 1−3 (18) 2.5 0−2 (20)
Lamellar number 16−18 (10) 17.2 17−22 (18) 19.4 16−22 (20)
Number of middorsals in 5% SVL 12−15 (10) 12.9 14−19 (18) 16.6 −
Number of midventrals in 5% SVL 7−11 (10) 9.2 9−14 (18) 11.9 −
Femur length 16.0−20.6 (10) 18.5 15.4−23.1 (16) 18.9 −
Maximum SVL (male/female) 62/57 75/69 80/62
Table 2. Scale count and measurements (mm) of specimens of Anolis ventrimaculatus from Ecuador and Colombia. Range (sample
size) and mean. SVL = snout-vent length.
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computer approach to the comparison and identica-
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Fernando Ayala-Varela is the director of the herpetology collection at the Ponticia Universidad Católica del
Ecuador in Quito. He received his diploma at the Ponticia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito in 2004. He
has been interested in herpetology since childhood and has dedicated a lot of time studying the lizards of Ecuador,
specically the taxonomy and ecology of Anolis species. His current research interests include reproductive biology
and ecology of lizards and snakes in Ecuador.
Julián A. Velasco is a Ph.D. student at Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. His doc-
toral research is focused on understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for species richness
and diversication of Anolis lizards. He addresses several evolutionary and ecological topics using a combination
of conceptual and methodological approaches as niche modeling, geospatial analysis, historical biogeography, and
macroecology.
Martha Calderón is the curator of the reptile collection at the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Na-
cional, Colombia. She obtained her doctor degree at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in
Mexico City. She works on ecomorphology, thermal ecology, reproductive biology, and molecular systematics of
lizards. More information can be found here: www.biodiversidadysistematicamolecular.blogspot.com
Alejandro Arteaga is a wildlife photographer and undergraduate biology student from Venezuela. In 2009, he
co-founded Tropical Herping, an institution striving to preserve tropical reptiles and amphibians through tourism,
photography, research, and education. Alejandro is author of The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo and several
scientic articles. He has described three species new to science and his photographic work has been featured in
National Geographic, Anima Mundi, and the Discovery Channel.
Yerka Sagredo Núñez is an Associate Researcher at the Museum of Zoology, Pontical Catholic University, Ec-
uador. Her bachelor’s degree was obtained in biological sciences from the Central University of Ecuador. Currently
she is working as an assistant in the herpetology collection at the Museo de Zoología of the Ponticia Universidad
Católica del Ecuador (QCAZ). She is interesting in ecology, behavior, and taxonomy of amphibians and reptiles. She
is also involved in studies of the genus Pristimantis.
Sebastián Valverde is an Associate Researcher at the Museum of Zoology at the Pontical Catholic University,
Ecuador. He has participated in several herpetology projects across the country and has worked in conservation
projects such as the creation of a biological corridor for the Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador.
