Mesaspis moreletii

Mesaspis moreletii
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Anguidae
Genus:	Mesaspis
Species:	M. moreletii
Binomial name
	Mesaspis moreletii; (Bocourt, 1872)
Synonyms[2]
	Gerrhonotus moreletii Bocourt, 1872; Barisia moreletii Tihen, 1949; Mesaspis moreleti Liner, 1994;

Mesaspis moreletii, commonly known as Morelet's alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to Central America.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, moreletii, is in honor of French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet.[3]

Geographic range

M. moreletii is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and possibly Nicaragua.[1]

Habitat

The natural habitat of M. moreletii consists of Central American pine-oak forests and cloud forests between 1,450 and 2,530 metres (4,760 and 8,300 ft) above sea level.[1]

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognized as being valid:[1]

Mesaspis moreletii moreletii (Bocourt, 1872)
Mesaspis moreletii fulvus (Bocourt, 1871)
Mesaspis moreletii rafaeli (Hartweg & Tihen, 1946)
Mesaspis moreletii salvadorensis (Hartweg & Tihen, 1946)
Mesaspis moreletii temporalis (Hartweg & Tihen, 1946)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Mesaspis.

The subspecific name, rafaeli, is in honor of Mexican herpetologist Rafael Martín del Campo.[3]

References

Veselý M. (2010). "Mesaspis moreletii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url
"Mesaspis moreletii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Del Campo", p. 69; "Mesaspis moreleti [sic]", pp. 182-183; "Mesaspis moreleti [sic] rafaeli", p. 215).