Gruñidor de Valeria

Description:

Medium size (Snout-Vent Length = 81 mm, Tail Length = 122 mm) and robust appearance with prominent head. Well developed gular fold. Granular dorsal scales, rounded, smooth and juxtaposed. General coloration blue-grayish to light-blue, without dorsal spots. Gray head, without transverse bands. Reddish inside part of the flanks and anterior thighs. Yellowish or lemon yellow belly. Gular region without black band and a yellowish region above it. Cylindrical tail, with reddish sides. Color of the iris of the eyes from blue to yellowish-grayish. In some adult specimens, the back has an arrangement of small dark brown spots following the vertebral line, giving a leopard-like appearance. The flanks can also have an arrangement of spots in rows, with irregular extensions.

Habitat:

Sclerophyllous and oak forests of the Coastal mountain chain in Central Chile.

Notes:

Female specimen of Pristidactylus valeriae. This species is really hard to find, it has usually a low abundance and they are usually associated with forests of Nothofagus macrocarpa. However, it has also been recently found associated to Chilean sclerophyllous forest. Its common name in Spanish is "gruñidor de Valeria", direct translation to English would be "Valeria's grunting lizard" because of the noise these lizards make when they feel threatened. In Chile we can find four species of grunting lizards (from the Pristidactylus genus). The geographic distribution of Pristidactylus valeriae is restricted to sclerophyllous and oak forests of Chilean Metropolitan and VI Regions, the first being one of the most heavily impacted areas by human beings in Chile. This species is endemic to Chile and is classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, few measures have been done by the Chilean Government to ensure its survival.