Variação geográfica e taxonomia do lagarto Ptychoglossus brevifrontalis Boulenger, 1912 (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae)

Abstract

The genus Ptychoglossus is included in the family Gymnophthalmidae and currently comprises 15 species distributed principally in western Amazonia. Ptychoglossus brevifrontalis, initially thought to have a peripheral distribution in Amazonia, was recorded in recent years in several localities in the interior of the Amazon, indicating a wide distribution within the region. However, little information on the morphological variation along the species range is available. In this report intraand interpopulational variation in the morphology of Ptychoglossus brevifrontalis was studied, including data on sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic variation. Ptychoglossus nicefori was included in the study, due to its resemblance to P. brevifrontalis and a history of synonymy between the two species. Geographic variation in some characters was found, without however justifying the recognition of additional taxa. The validity of P. nicefori is questionable but additional studies are needed before changes to the taxonomy of the group are proposed.