Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2018 Jun 28;13(6):e0199584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199584. eCollection 2018.
We provide the first description of the skull, osteoderms, and hyoid apparatus of the poorly known alligator lizard Elgaria panamintina, and compare the cranial osteology of that species to the widespread and well-studied taxon Elgaria multicarinata. Patterns of morphological variation resulting from ontogenetic transformations and pathology are discussed. We employed x-ray computed tomography (CT) scans to examine two adult specimens of Elgaria panamintina and two adult specimens of Elgaria multicarinata, in addition to examining multiple traditionally prepared skeletal specimens of the latter species. CT scans provide simultaneous study of both articulated and disarticulated elements, allowing us to describe and document the morphology of the skull with exceptional precision and detail. The description of the skull of Elgaria panamintina serves as a generalization for all Elgaria; here we provide the first complete description of the skull of this genus for future uses in morphological and phylogenetic studies of both extant species and fossils.
我们首次描述了知之甚少的美洲鳄蜥（Elgaria panamintina）的颅骨、骨板和舌骨装置，并将该物种的颅骨骨骼形态与分布广泛且研究充分的鳄蜥属（Elgaria multicarinata）进行了比较。讨论了由个体发育转化和病理学引起的形态变异模式。我们利用 X 射线计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描检查了两个成年美洲鳄蜥标本和两个成年鳄蜥属标本，此外还检查了多个传统制备的后者物种的骨骼标本。CT 扫描可以同时研究关节和非关节的元素，使我们能够以非凡的精度和细节来描述和记录颅骨的形态。对美洲鳄蜥颅骨的描述可作为所有鳄蜥的概括；在这里，我们首次完整描述了这个属的颅骨，以便将来在对现存物种和化石进行形态和系统发育研究时使用。
