Exceptional parallelisms characterize the evolutionary transition to live birth in phrynosomatid lizards.

Viviparity, an innovation enhancing maternal control over developing embryos, has evolved >150 times in vertebrates, and has been proposed as an adaptation to inhabit cold habitats. Yet, the behavioral, physiological, morphological, and life history features associated with live-bearing remain unclear. Here, we capitalize on repeated origins of viviparity in phrynosomatid lizards to tease apart the phenotypic patterns associated with this innovation.

A new species of Lepidophyma (Squamata: Xantusiidae) from San Luis Potosí, México, with notes on its physiological ecology.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the descriptions of members of the lizard genus Lepidophyma. Herein, we describe a new species of Lepidophyma from the Huasteca Potosina region of Mexico, previously confused with L. gaigeae, from which it differs in lacking parietal spot, among other characteristics.