title: A new species of Liolaemus related to L. nigroviridis from the Andean highlands of Central Chile (Iguania, Liolaemidae).
abstract: The Liolaemus nigroviridis group is a clade of highland lizards endemic to Chile. These species are distributed from northern to central Chile, and currently there are no cases of sympatric distribution. This study describes a new species, Liolaemus uniformis sp. n., from this group, and provides a detailed morphological characterization and mitochondrial phylogeny using cytochrome-b. Liolaemus uniformis was found in sympatry with Liolaemus nigroviridis but noticeably differed in size, scalation, and markedly in the color pattern, without sexual dichromatism. This new species has probably been confused with Liolaemus monticola and Liolaemus bellii, both of which do not belong to the nigroviridis group. The taxonomic issues of this group that remain uncertain are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Fisiologia y Biofisica, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas (ICBM), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Independencia 1027, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Troncoso-Palacios
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomedicas, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andres Bello, Republica 239, Santiago, Chile; Instituto Milenio de Inmunologia e Inmunoterapia, Portugal 49, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Alvaro A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Elorza
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomedicas, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas y Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andres Bello, Republica 239, Santiago, Chile; Instituto Milenio de Inmunologia e Inmunoterapia, Portugal 49, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: German I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Puas
authors.affiliation: Gayana Ecolodge, Cadillal Km 7, Corral, Chile.
authors.forename: Edmundo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alfaro-Pardo
keywords: Cyt-b; Liolaemus nigroviridis; Liolaemus uniformis sp. n.; lizard; mtDNA