Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Grismer, L. Lee

Lovich, Robert E.

English

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyEarth and Planetary Science

Texas ScholarWorks

REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: XANTUSIDAE Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Lovich, R.E. and L.L. Grismer. 2001. Xanlusia gracilis. Xantusia gracilis Grismer and Galvan Sandstone Night Lizard Xantusia henshawi gracilis Grismer and Galvan 1986: 155. Type locality,"Truckhaven Rocks, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, California." Holotype. San Diego Soci- ety of Natural History Museum (SDSNHM) 64830,collected 17 February 1985 by L.L. Grismer and M A. Galvan (exam- ined by authors). Xantusia gracilis Lovich 200 1 :477 CONTENT. No subspecies are recognized. DEFINITION AND DIAGNOSIS. Adult Xanrusia gracilis average 60.0-71.0 mm SVL. The head and body are somewhat dorsoventrally flattened. Vertical pupils are present. Femoral pores are larger in males than in females. This species differs from X. henshawi and X .  bolsonae in hav- ing enlarged temporal scales one-half the size of thepostparietal, absence of enlarged auriculars, absence of a vertebral furrow (in life), a narrower head, limbs that are not as widely splayed, a lack of a significant die1 color-phase change, a nearly com- plete absence of black peppering on ventral surfaces, a dorsal body pattern consisting of reduced round spots, significantly fewer scales around the upper arm and leg, a higher number of supralabials, fewer longitudinal rows of dorsal scales, a smaller interhindlimb distance1SVL ratio, a narrower body, fewer dor- sal scales at midbody, and thinner limbs. Grismer and Galvan (1986) also found differences the following life history attributes: X. gracilis inhabits sandstone, is found exclusively within a desert environment, and utilizes small burrows in addition to exfoliating sandstone. Xantusia henshawi and X .  bolsonae are not found in association with sandstone, but primarily in exfoli- ating granodiorite and metavolcanic rock, respectively. Xantusia gracilis, X. henshawi, and X. bolsonae are distinctly allopatric, with the nearest X. henshawi to X. gracilis being 32 km distant (Grismer and Galvan 1986) and the nearest X. bolsonae being hundreds of km distant in Durango, MCxico. Seven of 26 pre- sumptive gene loci (Bezy and Sites 1987) and the intensity of expression of two subunits of the lactate dehydrogenase isozyme (Sites et al. 1986) distinguish X. gracilis from X .  henshawi. Lovich (2001) demonstrated that X. henshawi and X. gracilis differ by at least 18 cytochrome b nucleotide changes. DESCRIPTIONS. The original description was extensive, and described Xantusia gracilis as a subspecies of the Granite Night Lizard, Xantusia henshawi (Grismer and Galvan 1986). The results of a molecular study by Lovich (2001), in concert with morphological and other pre-existing data, recommended full species status. ILLUSTRATIONS. Grismer and Galvan (1986) presented black-and-white photographs of live and preserved specimens, habitat, and black-and-white drawings of the head. Acolor pho- tograph is in Lovich (1999). Gray-Lovich (2000) included a black-and-white drawing of mating behavior. DISTRIBUTION. Xanrusia gracilis is restricted to a single sandstone outcrop referred to as the Truckhaven Rocks in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park of southern California. This rock formation is located on the south slope of the Santa Rosa I \ I I MAP. Distribution of Xattrusia gracilis: the circle denotes the type lo- cality and the entire 3 kmL range of the species. FIGURE. Adult Xantusia graciiis on the sandstone outcrop referred to as the Truckhaven Rocks in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park of south- em California (photograph by R.E. Lovich). Mountains in San Diego County. The entire habitat for X .  gra- cilis is approximately 3 km2 in size. These lizards are lithic ob- ligates of the sandstone formation they occupy, which is consis- tent with the lithic affinities of their sister taxon (Xanrusia henshawi) and other xantusiids (e.g., Xantusia bolsonae and Cricosaura rypica). Lizards occupy sandstone crevices and bur- rows primarily in and along the canyons that cut through the Truckhaven Rocks. FOSSIL RECORD. None. PERTINENT LITERATURE. Little work has been done on Xantlrsio gracilis. The most recent work was that of Lovich (2001), who analyzed its phylogeography with respect to its sister taxon. X. henshawi. Bezy and Sites (1987) looked at allozyme evolution and variation within the Xantusiidae. They used one X. henshawi and one X .  gracilis and found moderate levels of allozyme divergence between the two. Their conclusion was that X. henshawi and X. gracilis were sister groups. Sites et al. ( 1986) found that differences in seven of 26 presumptive gene loci and the intensity of expression of two subunits of the lactate dehy- drogenase isozyme distinguish X. grocilis from X .  henshriwi. Grismer and Galvan ( 1986) first described X. gracilis as a sub- species ofX. henshawi based on a thorough morphological analy- sis, distribution, ecology, and behavioral observations ex situ. ETYMOLOGY.The adjectival name gracilis, from the Latin meaning "slender," pertains to this population's slender habi- tUS. LITERATURE CITED Bezy. R.L., and J.W. Sites. 1987. A preliminary study of allozyme evo- lution in the lizard family Xantusiidae. Herpetologica 43:280-292. Gray-Lovich, K. 2000. Cover art. Herpetologica 56(2). Grismer, L. L. and M.A. Galvan. 1986. A new Night Lizard (Xanrusia henshowi) from a sandstone habitat in San Diego County, Califor- nia.Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 2 1 : 155- 165. Lovich, R.E. 1999. Phylogeography of the Night Lizard,Xontusio hen- shawi, from southern California. Unpubl. M.S. Thesis. Lorna Linda Univ., Loma Linda. California. -. 2001. Phylogeography of the Night Lizard. Xnnrusin henshnwi, in southern California: Evolution across fault zones. Herpetologica 57: 469486. Sites, J.W., R.A. Bezy. and P.Thompson. 1986. Nonrandom expression of lactate dehydrogenase isozymes in the lizard family Xantusiidae. Biochememical Systematics and Ecology 14539-545. ROBERT E. LOVICH,ACIS Environmental Security, Wildlife Management Branch, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendle-ton, CA 92055-5008, USA (lovichre@pendleton.usmc.mil) and L. LEE GRISMER, Department of Biology, LaSierra Uni- versity, Riverside, CA 925 15, USA (Iprismer@lasierra.edu). Primary editor for this account,Andrew H. Price. Published 30 June 2003 and Copyright O 2003 by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 

Xantusia gracilis

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Xantusia gracilis

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