Resurrection ofBronchocela burmanaBlanford, 1878 for the Green Crested Lizard (Squamata, Agamidae) of southern Myanmar.
Recent fieldwork in southern Tanintharyi revealed the presence of a small Green Crested Lizard in the wet evergreen forest. We generated mtDNA sequence data (ND2) that demonstrates that this population's nearest relative isBronchocela rayaensisGrismer et al., 2015 of Pulau Langkawi, northwestern Peninsular Malaysia and Phuket Island. Morphologically the BurmeseBronchocelashares many features withBronchocela rayaensis, which potentially would make this recently described Thai-Malay species a synonym ofBronchocela burmanaBlanford, 1878; however, we interpret the genetic and morphological differences to reflect evolutionary divergence and recommend the recognition of both species.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, District of Columbia, 20013-7012 USA.
George R
GR
Zug
Global Genome Initiative, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, District of Columbia, 20013-7012 USA.
Daniel G
DG
Mulcahy
Department of Herpetology, Californian Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 94103 USA.
Jens V
JV
Vindum
Peninsular Malaysia; Reptilia; Southeast Asia; Tanintharyi Division; Thailand; molecular phylogeny; morphology; nomenclature; synonymy