title: The missing leopard lizard: Liolaemus ubaghsi sp. nov., a new species of the leopardinus clade (Reptilia: Squamata: Liolaemidae) from the Andes of the O'Higgins Region in Chile.
abstract: Liolaemus is an extremely species rich genus of iguanid lizards from southern South America. Most of the diversity though is found in the Andes Cordillera, between Argentina and Chile<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3619.1.3">. Here we describe </a>Liolaemus ubaghsi sp. nov., from El Teniente Mine, in the Andean mountains of the O'Higgins Region in Chile. This species pr<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10635150701701083">esents scalation </a>and pattern traits that belong to the leopardinus clade, a group of viviparous, high altitude lizards that inhabit the mountain ranges surrounding Santiago City. The species of this clade in turn belong to the Andean and Patagonian elongatus-kriegi complex. Liolaemus ubaghsi sp. nov. has been previously recognized as L. leopardinus and L. elongatus, nevertheless we present diagnostic traits that allow us to describe it as a new species. It mainly differs from the rest of the leopardinus clade (L. leopardinus, L. ramonensis, L. valdesianus and L. frassinettii) by having the following unique combination of traits: ochre background coloration, a wide dark occipital stripe, dark flanks, white dots dispersed on the dorsum, absence of leopard-like spots and enlarged infralabial scales.
authors.affiliation: Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.; Email: damien.esquerre@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Esquerré
authors.affiliation: Programa de Fisiología y Biofísica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 70005, Santiago, Chile.; Email: jtroncosopalacios@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Troncoso-Palacios
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114-D, Santiago, Chile; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Carlos F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Garín
authors.affiliation: Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, casilla 787, Santiago de Chile.; Email: hnunez@mnhn.cl.
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Núnez
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000818:Animals; D002677:Chile; D005260:Female; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D008297:Male