''Crocodilurus'' is a
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 ...
genus that belongs to the family
Teiidae. It is
monotypic, with only a single described species, ''Crocodilurus amazonicus'', the crocodile tegu. It is locally known as the jacarerana. This
semiaquatic lizard has a flattened, paddle-like tail and is found in the
Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
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
arthropods, 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 crocodilian
Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both ) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles, known as crocodilians. They first appeared 95 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period ( Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living ...
s.
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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