A high mountain lizard from Peru: The world’s highest-altitude reptile

• Main Authors: José Cerdeña, Jackie Farfán, Aarón J. Quiroz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2021-02-01
• Series: Herpetozoa
• Online Access: https://herpetozoa.pensoft.net/article/61393/download/pdf/

Life at high altitudes is particularly challenging for ectothermic animals like reptiles and involves the evolution of specialised adaptations to deal with low temperatures, hypoxia and intense UV radiation. As a result, only very few reptile taxa are able to survive above 5,000 m elevation and herpetological observations from these altitudes are exceedingly rare. We report here an exceptional observation of a lizard population (Liolaemus aff. tacnae; Reptilia, Squamata) from the high Andes of Peru. During an ascent of Chachani mountain (6,054 m, 16°11'S, 71°32'W), we observed and documented photographically this species living between 5,000 and 5,400 m above sea level. Following a review of literature, we show that this is the highest known record of a reptile species.