Resurrection of Stenocercus torquatus Boulenger, a spiny-tailed iguanid lizard (Squamata : Iguania) from Peru

Abstract

We resurrect and redescribe Stenocercus torquatas from the Andes of central Peru in departamentos Junin and Pasco at elevations between 800 and 1800 m. This species was erroneously synonymized with Stenocercus crassicaudatus, which occurs allopatrically in the Andes of southeastern Peru, departamento Cusco. In addition to several scale counts, Stenocercus torquatus differs from S.crassicaudatus in having a black antehumeral collar, two black transverse bands anterior to the antehumeral collar, a shorter tail, the ability to change color, and an arboreal life-style.