Species:

Gallotia intermedia  BARBADILLO et al., 1999

Common names:

Tenerife Speckled Lizard (English)
Gesprenkelte Kanareneidechse (German)
Lagarto Canario Moteado (Spanish)

Types:

Holotype: DZUL (given as Fundacion Neotropico, Tenerife, Spain (still alive fide Jaime A. de Urioste, pers. comm., 17 June 2017), DZUL (Departamento de ZoologÌa, Universidad de La Laguna); Paratypes in ZFMK (still to be received), DZUL, TFMC

Terra Typica:

“Risco de La Jaqueta in the Acantilado de Los Gigantes, elevation 25 m, (westernmost part of Tenerife) (28° 15` N, 16° 50` W)”.

Taxonomic notes:

BARBADILLO et al. (1999) mentioned this species with a description in a field guide before it was “officially” described by HERNÁNDEZ et al. (2000). The Code (Art 16.1) obligates to indicate new species with `sp. nov.` or similar, but only for names published after 1999. However, the BARBADILLO guide is from 1999 (without any indication this being a new species) and hence in a “legal” grey zone.

(OSCAR ARRIBAS, pers. comm.).

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Hernández, E. & Nogales, M. & Aurelio, M. (2000) -  Discovery of a new lizard in the Canary islands, with a multivariate analysis of Gallotia (Reptilia: Lacertidae). -  Herpetologica, 56 (1): 63-76.    

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  We describe a new species of Gallotia from Tenerife (Canary Islands). This lizard is intermediate in size between the two smaller (G. atlantica and G. galloti) and the two larger (G. simonyi and G. stehlini) species. Furthermore, it differs from the two similar larger Gallotia in the number of supratemporal scales (mode 4 instead of mode 2), usually 16 longitudinal ventral scale rows, and having distinctive dorsal yellow spots, and small lateral yellow or blue spots. Individuals from a small population located in La Hábiga show a pale gray reticulation on dorsum and absence of ocelli in the lateral region. Univariate and multivariate analyses of nine meristic variables of each extant species within the genus Gallotia revealed significant variation. Principal component analyses support the existence of three main morphological closters within the genus, the new lizard being nearest to G. simonyi and G. stehlini. Molecular data from mtDNA sequences (cytechrome b and 12S ribosomal RNA) indicate that G. intermedius is closely related to G. simonyi.

• Cox, S.C. & Carranza, S. & Brown, R.P. (2010) -  Divergence times and colonization of the Canary Islands by Gallotia lizards. -  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 56 (2): 747-757.    

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  The Canary Islands have become a model region for evolutionary studies. We obtained 1.8 Kbp of mtDNA sequence from all known island forms of the endemic lizard genus Gallotia and from its sister taxon Psammodromus in order to reanalyze phylogenetic relationships within the archipelago, estimate lineage divergence times, and reconstruct the colonization history of this group. Well-supported phylogenies were obtained using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Previous studies have been unable to establish the branching pattern at the base of the tree. We found evidence that G. stehlini (Gran Canaria) originated from the most basal Gallotia node and G. atlantica from the subsequent node. Divergence times were estimated under a global clock using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods implemented by three different programs: BEAST, MCMCTREE, MULTIDIVTIME. Node constraints were derived from subaerial island appearance data and were incorporated into the analyses as soft or hard maximal bounds. Posterior node ages differed slightly between programs, possibly due to different priors on divergence times. The most eastern Canary Islands first emerged just over 20 mya and their colonization appears to have taken place relatively quickly, around 17–20 mya. The subsequent node is consistent with cladogenesis due to colonization of Gran Canaria from the eastern islands about 11–13 mya. The western islands appear to have been colonized by a dispersal event from Lanzarote/Fuerteventura in the east to either La Gomera or one of the ancient edifices that subsequently formed Tenerife in the west, about 9–10 mya. Within the western islands, the most recent node that is ancestral to both the G. intermedia/G. gomerana/G. simonyi and the G. galloti/G. caesaris clades is dated at about 5–6 mya. Subsequent dispersal events between ancient Tenerife islands and La Gomera are dated at around 3 mya in both clades, although the direction of dispersal cannot be determined. Finally, we show that G. galloti is likely to have colonized La Palma more than 0.5 Ma after emergence of the island 1.77 mya, while G. caesaris from the same clade may have colonized El Hierro very soon after it emerged 1.12 mya. There are tentative indications that the large-bodied endangered G. simonyi colonized El Hierro around the same time or even later than the smaller-bodied G. caesaris. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of Bayesian dating of a phylogeny in helping reconstruct the historical pattern of dispersal across an oceanic archipelago.