Facing a Slithery Dragon: Systematics of the Petracola Ventrimaculata (Boulenger, 1900) Species Complex (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) with Description of Five New Species
Journal: Zootaxa
Issue: Vol. 5792 No. 2: 13 Apr. 2026
Authors: Lourdes Y. Echevarría1,2, Pablo J. Venegas3,4, Luis A. García-Ayachi3,4, Antonio García- Bravo4,5, Omar Torres-Carvajal6
1 Knight Piésold Consultores S.A., Calle Aricota 106, 5º Piso, Santiago de Surco, Lima 33, Perú
2 Departamento de Herpetología, Museo de Historia Natural de San Marcos (MUSM), Av. Arenales 1256, Jesus Maria, Lima, Perú
3 Rainforest Partnership, 4005 Guadalupe St., Austin, Texas 78751, USA
4 Instituto Peruano de Herpetología (IPH), Augusto Salazar Bondy 136, Urb. Higuereta, Surco, Lima, Perú
5 Herbario KUELAP, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas (UNTRM), Chachapoyas 01001, Perú
6 Museo de Zoología, Centro de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad CIBIO, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Avenida 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Apartado 17–01–2184, Quito, Ecuador
ABSTRACT
Nearly two decades ago, the gymnophthalmid lizard Petracola ventrimaculata was hypothesized to be a species complex based on dorsal and ventral color pattern differences among populations within a wide and disjunct geographical area in the northern Peruvian Andes. Here, we address this proposal using both molecular and morphological evidence. We analyzed a molecular matrix of Cercosaurinae, including 22 specimens and 78 DNA sequences of P. ventrimaculata sensu lato to study the phylogenetic relationships among its populations. We also conducted a detailed examination of the external morphology of 236 P. ventrimaculata specimens from several populations. Based on our analyses, we describe five new Petracola species, two of them previously assigned to P. ventrimaculata, from Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central in northern Peru. P. ventrimaculata sensu stricto is distributed across several localities in Cajamarca department in the northern part of the Cordillera Occidental in northwestern Peru. We hypothesize that the distribution patterns within the Petracola ventrimaculata species complex could be related to vicariant processes driven by the complex orogeny of the Huancabamba Depression and the Marañón River valley. Given its distinctive morphological traits and disjunct distribution, we recommend treating P. labioocularis as incertae sedis within Cercosaurinae, pending molecular data to resolve its phylogenetic placement. We present recommendations for future descriptions of new species of Petracola.
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