The Hispaniolan curlytail lizard (''Leiocephalus schreibersii''), also known as the Hispaniolan khaki curlytail, the red-sided curlytail lizard, the red-sided curly-tailed lizard, or Schreibers's curly-tailed lizard, is a common lizard
species in the
family Leiocephalidae. It is native to
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
(in both
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and the
Dominican Republic) in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, and an introduced population is found in southern
Florida. There are two recognized
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
Taxonomy
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''schreibersi'', is in honor of Austrian naturalist
Carl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Leiocephalus schreibersii'', p. 238).]
Subspecies
Including the
nominotypical subspecies, two subspecies are recognized as being valid.
[
*'' Leiocephalus schreibersii nesomorus''
*'' Leiocephalus schreibersii schreibersii''
'' Nota bene'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Leiocephalus''.
]
Distribution and habitat
''L. schreibersii'' is indigenous to the main island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
(the Dominican Republic and Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
), and Île de la Tortue. It is also found in Florida as an introduced species.[ www.reptile-database.org.] The preferred natural habitat of ''L. schreibersii'' is shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
at altitudes from sea level to .
Life cycle and behavior
''L. schreibersii'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...
.[
''L. schreibersii'' is active during the day. It feeds mainly on insects.
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. ("''Liocephalus'' ic''schreibersii'' ", pp. 162–163).
* Gravenhorst JLC (1837). "''Beiträge zur genaueren Kenntniss einiger Eidechsengattungen'' ". ''Verhandlungen der Kaiserlichen Leopoldinisch-Carolinischen Akademie der Naturforscher / Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum'' 18: 712-784. (''Pristonotus schreibersii'', new species, pp. 739–742 + Plate LIV, figures 15, 16). (in German).
* Schwartz A (1968). "The ''Leiocephalus'' (Lacertilia, Iguanidae) of Hispaniola. III. ''Leiocephalus screibersi'' ic ''L. semilineatus'', and ''L. pratensis'' ". ''Journal of Herpetology'' 1 (1-4): 39-63. (''Leiocephalus schreibersi'' ic''nesomorus'', new subspecies, p. 47).
Leiocephalus
Reptiles described in 1837
Reptiles of the Dominican Republic
Reptiles of Haiti
Endemic fauna of Hispaniola
Taxa named by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst
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