Austral Smooth-throated lizard

About the Austral Smooth-throated lizard

Liolaemus sarmientoi is a species of lizard in the family Liolaemidae. It is considered a medium-sized example of the family, with an average snout–vent length of 76 to 77 mm, with males usually larger than females. The lizard was first described by Chilean herpetologist Roberto Donoso-Barros in 1973. The species was initially categorized as a subspecies of Liolaemus archeforus, another Patagonian species described by Donoso-Barros and Cei in 1971, but was elevated to a distinct species after further study by Cei and Scolaro in 1996.

The specific name sarmientoi comes from the Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, known for his early transit through the Strait of Magellan, which runs near the habitat of the species' population. L. sarmientoi is considered one of the southernmost lizard species in the world, being endemic to the extreme southern regions of Chile and Argentina, known as Patagonia. The species is saxicolous, or an inhabitant of rocky, volcanic habitats, found along the arid, windswept steppe.

There is no estimate of the total population of the species on record. L. sarmientoi, like most lizard species... Wikipedia →