Karyotypes of Four Agamid Lizards from Southeast Asia

Abstract

We karyotyped four lizards, Acanthosaura armata, Bronchocela cristatella, Calotes emma, and C. versicolor, all belonging to the tropical Asian clade of the family Agamidae. The karyotype of A. armata consisted of 12 metacentric macrochromosomes and 20 microchromosomes, whereas B. cristatella had 14 metacentric macrochromosomes and 20 microchromosomes. Except for the presence of 22 microchromosomes, the karyotypes of the two Calotes species were similar to that of A. armata. The 20 microchromosome state in the A. armata karyotype may have emerged in the ancestral lineage common to Gonocephalus robinsonii, whose karyotype also exhibits a 12M+20m format. Comparison of the present results with previously published information suggests the presence of cryptic taxonomic diversity in B. cristatella and C. versicolor.