The holotype and additional records of Pogona henrylawsoni Wells and Wellington, 1985

1 Pages·1995·0.45 MB·English

by  Glenn M Shea

.
574 MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLAND MUSEUM
THE HOLOTYPEAND ADDITIONAL RECORDSOP Underthe1CZN,ettsteneeofbothaneotypeandholotype
POGONA HENRYLAWSONI WELLS & WELLING- forP. henrylawsoni requires formal resolution Application
TON,J985.MemoirsoftheQueenslandMuseum38(2):574 for a ruling is in preparation (Witten, pers comm.). P.
1995- Two names have been proposed for a species of henrylawsoniisincommonusage(Greer, 1989;deVosjoli&
beardeddragon(Pogona)fromblack-soil plains,centraland Mailloux,1993) Thusstabilityisservedbysuppressionofthe
westernQueensland.PogonahenrylawsoniWells&Welling- neotype, and retention of P. henrylawsoni in it* original
ton 1985 was described from a single specimen with field application.
sightings and one other specimen (QMJ1051) also cited. DetailsofdistributionandecologyofP henrylawsoniarefeWw
Descriptionoftheholotype wasbasedon metric andcolor- Fiveadditional specimensarereported: AMR143864,5.8km
ation data, with limited diagnostic comparisons Witten LandsboroughHwvonBoutiard,R.Sadlier&G.Shea3.iv.1994;
(1994a)claimedthattheholotypecouldnotbefoundamong RI4452S, 3Skmby rdS Winton, W. van Devender 23,t 1994;
specimensintheAustralianMuseum(AM),citingapersonal NorthemTenitorvMuseumR11415,19kmW.Winton,P.Homer
communicationbyR.Sadliernotingthelostholotype.Witlen 19i 1984; R11416, 25km W. Winton, P. Homer #11984;
furtherclaimedthatthediagnosiswasinadequatetodifferen- QMJ57178, S. of Beryl Sin, 80km E. Winton, A Emmott
tiate P, henrylawsoni from the sympatric P. vitticeps {Ahl, 9.tii.1993. Locality data forQMJ38760-62 (Witlen. 19^a) are
1926),nominatedasneotypeforP henrylawsoniaspecimen incomplete. These records are from 81.8km N Muttaburra on
of P. vitticeps (AMR143896),t and described the 7*. Hughendenrd,54.2kmSHughendenonMuttaburrardand214km
HenrytawsonC' asPogonabrevis ThedescriptionofPogtma N Hughenden on Hann Hwy respectively. Distribution ofthis
breviswas largely ofscalation, although metric characters species thus extends from Gregory Downs to Longreach and
(shorttailandlimbs)werenotedfromWitten(1994b), Aramac. AMR144528 (SV1.= 120mm) andQMJ57178(SVb=
Witten*s actions were invalid for two reasons. Wells & II7mm) are ovigerous females with 5 and 9 eggs. Ovnjerttis
Wellington(1985)comparedP. henrylawsonitoP. vitticeps, femaleshavepreviouslybeenreportedinJanuary(Wdls&Wel-
although one of (he claimed diagnostic characters, smooth lington. 1985), northern hemisphere captives have oviposited
ventral scales, was shown lobe unreliable (Witten, 1994a), mostly betweenMarchandJune(deVosjoU&Maitloux, 1993)
Wells& Wellingtonalso notedthesmallsize,shorttail and AMR143864regurgitatedbytheelapidPseudechiscollertx;isthe
rounded head of their species, The holotype of p. firstrecordofprcdationforthespecies.
henrylawsoni.anovigerousfemale,(SVL130mm),(WellsA
Wellington, 1985)issmallerthanthe minimum mature size LiteratureCited
for populations ofP. vitticeps outside Victoria (Witten & de Vosjoli, P. & Mailloux, R. 1993. The general care and
Coventry, 1990) A rounded head and short tail were also maintenanceofbeardeddragons.(AdvancedVivarium
reportedasdiagnosticfor/*,brevis(Witten,1994a).Secondly, Systems:LakesideUSA).
the holotype ofP henrylawsoni has been in the Australian Greer, A.E. 1989, The biology and evolution of Australian
MAuMset'uimclcdoNlo&l.ec1t6i8o1n4s}iwncaes1r9e8g5i.stTWehreedhoonl6o.tiyxp.e19(8A5,MaRlIon1g69w8i4t;h Wells,lRiz.aWrd.s.&(SWuerlrleiyngBteoanl,tyC.&R.So1n98s5:.CAhicplpaissnigfiNcoarttioonn)o.fthe
OtherWell* Wellingtontype* ittenmisinterpretedaletter AmphibiaandReptiliaofAustralia.AustralianJournal
fhreonmryRl.awSwandilihera.dwnhoticbheennotleoddgtewdoinotthheercoslpleecctiimoen,nsbuotfdPi.d Witten,ofQ.HJe.rp&e.tCoolvoegnyt(rSyu,ppAlt..Seiry.9)G.(IS):matl-l61Pogona vitticeps
notmentiontheholotypefR.Sadlier,pers.comm.). (Reptilia: Agamidac) from the Big Desert, Victoria,
descTrhieptihoonlootfyPp.eborfeviPs..hWeenlrlysla&wsWoenlili(nrgigt.oni()1m9a85t)chdeisdntohet owfitthhenRoioeysalonSooctiheetryPoofgVoinctaorpioapu1l0a2t(i2o)n:s.U7P-r1oc2e0e.dings
reportontcalationdescribedbyWitten(1994a).Theholotype Witten. G.J. 1994a. Taxonomy of Pogona (Reptilia:
lias 14supralabials, 15 infralabials,5 pronasals,5subnasals, Lacertilia: Agamidae). Memoirs of the Queensland
13 inccntasals, 17 scales between rostral and parietal, 105 Museum37(1):329-343.
roraaildb+cdpycescaanlaels,po1r7e1s7.18WRitstuebndi(gi1l9a9l4al)amerlelpaoertaenddt4hLat/4tRhefetami-l 199La4cbertiliRae:lAagtaimviedae)g.rMoewmtohirs|RoftPhengQruveuetns(lRaenpdtMiul-e
lengthgivenbyWell*andWellington(1985)wasshorterthan seum37(1)-345-356.
in the series he examined. I confirm the short tail of the
hototype;ImeasureSVL=126anmandraillength=l16mm. t'jlenn.if.SJtea, OepartmerxofVeterinaryAnatomy. Untver
tityo)fSydney, NSWMQ6.
flO. I. HolotypeofPii$onaheMykiWfn\