Cytogenetic studies of four Brazilian species of teiid lizards (Squamata, Teiidae)

Four species (Ameiva ameiva, Cnemidophorus lacertoides, Teius oculatus, Tupinambis merianae) of Brazilian Teiidae lizards (Squamata, Teiidae) were studied cytogenetically, a sample of 26 being collected from five sites in Brazil. We found that A. ameiva had a 2n = 50 karyotype and silver staining showed that the nucleolus organizer region (NOR) was located in a medium sized acrocentric macrochromosome pair. The karyotype of C. lacertoides was 2n = 50 and there was heterochromatin in the centromeric areas of the macrochromosomes. In the case of T oculatus the karyotype was 2n = 54 with the NOR being located in the secondary constriction of chromosome pair 10 although there was no evident C-banding. With T merianae the karyotype was 2n = 3 8 and the NOR was located in the secondary constrictions of chromosome pair 2, with a slightly marked centromeric area in chromosome pair 5. Little constitutive heterochromatin was observed in the C-banding studies, although the centromeric and telomeric areas of the macrochromosomes of A. ameiva were positive for C-banding.