The Jamaican giant galliwasp or sinking galliwasp (''Celestus occiduus'') is a species of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

in the

Diploglossidae Diploglossidae is a family of anguimorph lizards native to the Americas, with most genera being endemic to Hispaniola. Most members of this family (aside from the legless genus '' Ophiodes'') are known as galliwasps. They were formerly considered ...

. It was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It was last recorded in mid-19th century, with locals reporting unconfirmed sightings. Its population has been ravaged and exterminated by introduced predators like

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

s. Recent surveys, while extensive, have not yet been exhaustive, given the difficulties of access into and around the Black River Morass, leaving room for some hope that the species may persist, albeit with a tiny population.

References

Celestus Lizards of the Caribbean Reptiles of Jamaica Endemic fauna of Jamaica Reptiles described in 1802 Taxa named by George Shaw Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{lizard-stub