Their bright coloration probably accounts for the common name ― the Butterfly
Lizards, for members of
the genus Leiolepis . The Butterfly Lizards are found from southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar,
and Thailand southwest through Peninsular Malaysia. Of interest are early
suggestions that Leiolepis ‘glides’
from trees (Cantor, 1847). And, Swinhoe (1870) wrote, that “if surprised far from their holes, they spring
into the air while running, and, expanding the loose red skin of their sides,
skim along the surface of the sand for a considerable distance (say, often 20
yards at a time) and thus reach their retreats at greater speed.” Probably because
of these comments in the literature Edward Taylor suggested they “sail” off
banks. Losso et al. (1988) measured locomotor performance of Leiolepis belliani running,
jumping and parachuting and investigated whether performance capabilities are
correlated with morphological features. They also examined the ability of this
lizard to flatten its body. Larger lizards fell and ran faster and jumped
further. Lizards that were experimentally prevented from flattening fell faster
than control lizards. Cantor and Swinhoe comments were apparently exaggerated
because a number of other observers have failed to see the behavior and found these
lizards only able to run. Losso et al.(1988) concluded that it is unlikely that
lateral flattening has evolved as an adaptation for parachuting in Leiolepis, However, they suggest the
ability of Leiolepis to flatten its
body may function in: thermoregulation; intraspecific communication (male
butterfly lizards have brightly marked flanks), and lateral flattening has been
observed during male combat. Or, Leiolepis
may have evolved the flattening ability to startle predators.
The seven known
species of Southeast Asian Buttererfly Lizards have been long considered to
belong to the family Agamidae. Four of the seven species are sexually reproducing
species: Leiolepis belliana (Gray, 1827); L. guttata Cuvier, 1829;
L. peguensis Peters, 1971; and L. reevesii Gray, 1831); and the
other three species reproduce asexually (L. boehmei Darevsky and
Kupriyanova, 1993; L. guentherpetersi Darevsky and Kupriyanova, 1993,
and L. triploida Peters, 1971).
Now, Grismer and
Grismer (2010) have described a new asexual species from Binh Chau – Phuoc Buu
Nature Reserve, in Vietnam where it is believed to be endemic. The new species,
Leiolepis ngovantrii differs from all sexual species of Leiolepis by
lacking males and from all asexual species by having nine rows of enlarged
keeled scales across the forearm. Grismer and Grismer made phylogenetic
inferences based on 700 base pairs of the mitochondrial ND2 region, and suggest
L. ngovantrii's maternal ancestor was L. guttata, and found it was also the ancestral
species of L. guentherpetersi, L. boehmei, and L. ngovantrii.
L. boehmei was recovered as the maternal ancestor to L. triploida. Leiolepis is also of interest because
they are often eaten by humans. Recent news reports (November 12,2010) are reporting
that the Vietnamese are serving the just described, fast
moving, L. ngovantrii in restaurants despite the fact that it is
believed to be restricted to the Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve. While it
might be news that the newly described species is being eaten, it has been
relatively well known that other members of the genus also find themselves in the
kitchens of Southeast Asia.
As for the relationship of the Butterfly Lizards to other lizards, the
studies have been a bit confusing. But, Okajima and Kumazawa (2010) have recently
used the mtDNA genomes of agamid lizards to sort out relationships and found
that within Agamidae, Uromastyx (Uromastycinae) diverged first and Leiolepis (Leiolepidinae) diverged next. The Uromastycinae and Leiolepidinae
are found to be sister to each other, forming a basal clade in the agamids.
Literature
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Catalogue of reptiles inhabiting the Malayan peninsula and islands, collected or
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Grismer, J. L.
and L. Grismer. 2010. Who’s your mommy? Identifying maternal ancestors of
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Okajima, Y. and
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