''Crocodilurus'' is a
lizard genus that belongs to the family
Teiidae
Teiidae is a family of autarchoglossan lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae, and both famili ...
. It is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
, with only a single described species, ''Crocodilurus amazonicus'', the crocodile tegu. It is locally known as the jacarerana. This
semiaquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semi aquatic animals include:
* Ve ...
lizard has a flattened, paddle-like tail and is found in the
Amazon Basin and the
Guiana Shield
The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...
in South America. It feeds on
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...
s, amphibians, reptiles and fish.
[Martins, M. (2006). ''Life in the water: Ecology of the Jacarerana lizard, Crocodilurus amazonicus.'' Herpetological Journal 16: 171-177.] It is not related to crocodilians.
References
Further reading
*Avila-Pires, T.C.S. (1995). ''Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata)''. Zoologische Verhandelingen 299: 1-706
*Harvey, M.B., Ugueto, G.N. & Gutberlet, R.L. (2012). ''Review of Teiid Morphology with a Revised Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Teiidae (Lepidosauria: Squamata)''. Zootaxa 3459: 1–156.
*Massary, J.C. de & Hoogmoed, M.S. (2001). ''Crocodilurus amazonicus Spix, 1825: The valid name for Crocodilurus lacertinus auctorum (nec Daudin, 1802) (Squamata: Teiidae)''. Journal of Herpetology 35 (2): 353–357.
*Spix, J.B. von (1825). ''Animalia nova sive species nova lacertarum quas in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII-MDCCCXX jussu et auspicius Maximiliani Josephi I Bavariae Regis suscepto collegit et descripsit Dr. J. B. de Spix'', Lipsiae: T. O. Weigel; F. S. Hübschmanni, Monachii, 26 pp.
Original description
.
External links
*
Teiidae
Monotypic lizard genera
Reptiles of Brazil
Reptiles of Colombia
Reptiles of French Guiana
Reptiles of Peru
Reptiles of Venezuela
Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix
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