Chromosomal banding patterns in the eyelid-less microteiid radiation: Procellosaurinus and Vanzosaura (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae).

Cytogenetic studies were performed on three species of eyelid-less microteiids, Procellosaurinus erythrocerus, P. tetradactylus, and Vanzosaura rubricauda (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae), all with a diploid number of 2n = 40. The specimens were collected in the palaeoquartenary dune fields of the middle Rio São Francisco in the State of Bahia, Brazil. Chromosomes from fibroblast cultures were studied after routine Giemsa staining, CBG-and RBG-banding, and Ag-NOR staining. Despite similarities in chromosome number and morphology, each species can be differentiated by the position and amount of C-heterochromatin. Our cytogenetic and DNA content data indicate that there are more similarities between the two species of Procellosaurinus than exist between either species and V. rubricauda, reinforcing the importance of banding techniques for the characterization of reptilian species.