Ecomorphological variations in Enyalius species (Iguanidae, Leiosaurinae): testing hypotheses for Brazilian forest lizards

The morphological ecology is a theoretical approach that studies the relationship between the functional form of the organisms and their habitat, using data to study individual variation in morphological adaptation within populations. Thereby, we tested ecological patterns and morphological on the Enyalius lizards from Brazilian forests. Data on Enyalius species were obtained from scientific collections and literature. We used 558 individuals from eight species which obtained morphological and environmental data, and their respective collection sites. The different forests in which the lizards were collected were classified (open or closed). The environmental variables were obtained from WorldClim database on each collection site (geographic coordinates). The morphological data were used with selected environmental variables in a canonical correlation analysis to explain the species identity and the source of this ecological variation pattern. Most of variation in the model was explained by environmental variables and secondarily by morphology of species. The results indicated that changes in the body size and in the body proportions can be reported to the type of habitats (or substrates) used among the Enyalius species. We suggest that the morphological variation of species should be more an adaptive response to environmental conditions than a consequence of phylogenetic inertia inherited of Enyalius group.