Potamites

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata Episquamata

Subordo: Lacertoidea
Superfamilia: Gymnophthalmoidea

Familia: Gymnophthalmidae
Subfamilia: Cercosaurinae
Tribus: Cercosaurini
Genus: Potamites
Species (7): P. apodemus – P. ecpleopus – P. erythrocularis – P. juruazensis – P. montanicola – P. ocellatus – P. strangulatus
Name

Potamites Doan & Castoe, 2005: 408

Type species: Euspondylus strangulatus Cope, 1868, by original designation.
References
Primary references

Doan, T.M. & Castoe, T.A. 2005. Phylogenetic taxonomy of the Cercosaurini (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae), with new genera for species of Neusticurus and Proctoporus. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 143(3): 405–416. DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00145.x Reference page.

Additional references

Altamirano-Benavides, M., Zaher, H., Lobo, L.M., Graziotin, F.G., Nunes, P.M.S. & Rodrigues, M.T. 2013. A new species of lizard genus Potamites from Ecuador (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae). Zootaxa 3717(3): 345–358. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3717.3.4 Paywall Reference page.
Chávez, G. & Vásquez, D. 2012. A new species of Andean semiaquatic lizard of the genus Potamites (Sauria, Gymnophtalmidae) from southern Peru. ZooKeys 168: 31-43. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.168.2048 Open access. Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Potamites . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 22 March 2018.

Potamites is a genus of lizards in the family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is restricted to northern South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and southern Central America (Costa Rica and Panama). They are semi-aquatic and found near streams.[1]

Taxonomy and species

Until 2005, species now placed in Potamites were included in Neusticurus, another genus containing semi-aquatic lizards of South America.[2] Despite the move, some still have an English name that refers to their former genus, including P. strangulatus, the big-scaled neusticurus.[3] Even after this split, genetic studies revealed that Potamites was paraphyletic and to resolve this two species were moved to Gelanesaurus in 2016.[4]

The genus Potamites currently contains six valid species.[3] Further changes are likely, as P. ecpleopus as currently defined is paraphyletic, and it has been suggested that trachodus, usually considered a subspecies of P. strangulatus, should be recognized as a separate species.[4]

Potamites ecpleopus (Cope, 1875) – common stream lizard
Potamites erythrocularis (Chávez & Catenazzi, 2014)
Potamites hydroimperator (Chávez & Malqui & Catenazzi, 2021)
Potamites juruazensis (Ávila-Pires & Vitt, 1998)
Potamites montanicola (Chávez & Vásquez, 2012)
Potamites ocellatus (Sinitsin, 1930)
Potamites strangulatus (Cope, 1868) – big-scaled neusticurus

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Potamites.
References

Bauer; Jackman (2008). "Global diversity of lizards in freshwater (Reptilia: Lacertilia)". Hydrobiologia. 595 (1): 581–586. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9115-0. S2CID 46493725.
Doan; Castoe (2005). "Phylogenetic taxonomy of the Cercosaurini (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae), with new genera for species of Neusticurus and Proctoporus". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (3): 405–416. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00145.x.
"Potamites ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
Torres-Carvajal; Lobos; Venegas; Chávez; Aguirre-Peñafiel; Zurita; Echevarría (2016). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the most diverse clade of South American gymnophthalmid lizards (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae, Cercosaurinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 99: 63–75. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.03.006. PMID 26975692.