Common Root Lizard

<div><p>Loxopholis parietalis (Cope, 1886)</p> <p>Distribution: Known from the Amazonian foothills at the northeastern Andes of Peru, eastern Ecuador, the mountain range of Mérida, the Amazonia in Venezuela, and in southeastern Colombia (Ávila-Pires 1995; Rivas et al. 2012). In Colombia, this species is distributed in the eastern slope of the Cordillera Oriental and the Amazonian region (Fig. 4D).</p> <p>Similar species: Loxopholis parietalis differs from other cis-Andean congenerics by the presence of a large fourth pair of chin-shields (reduced in L. hexalepis and L. percarinatum); keeled ventral scales (smooth or weakly keeled in L. caparensis, smooth in L. hexalepis); rhomboid dorsals (hexagonal to rectangular with straight lateral margins in L. snethlageae); and a large frenocular scale (small frenocular scale in L. snethlageae). For a more detailed description see Ávila-Pires (1995).</p> </div>