The spiny weapontail (''Hoplocercus spinosus'') is a lizard belonging to the

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 "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Hoplocercus''. It is found in the Cerrado and adjacent Cerrado–

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

mosaics in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. It is quite distantly related to the other members of

Hoplocercidae Hoplocercidae are a family of lizards native to the tropical forests, woodlands and savanna-like habitats of Central and South America. Alternatively they are recognized as a subfamily, Hoplocercinae. 20 species in three genera are described. Sp ...

, as it is believed to have diverged from these about 35 million years ago. The spiny weapontail has a total length of about .AnimalItaly
Lucertola dalla coda spinosa del Brasile, Hoplocercus spinosus.
Retrieved 16 March 2018. As suggested by its name, it has a short, highly spiny tail (it is superficially similar to '' Uromastyx'' and the smaller species in '' Ctenosaura''); when disturbed, it retreats to its burrow with the tail orientated towards the entrance. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, and feeds on

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

References

* Avila-Pires,T.C.S. (1995). Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zool. Verh., Leiden 299: 1-706 * Boulenger, G.A. (1885). Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. * Dirksen, L. & De la Riva, I. 1999. The lizards and amphisbaenians of Bolivia (Reptilia, Squamata): checklist, localities, and bibliography. Graellsia 55: 199-215 * Estes, Richard & Pregill, Gregory, eds. 1988. Phylogenetic relationships of the Lizard Families: Esaays Commemorating Charles L. Camp. Stanford University Press, xvi + 632 pp. * Fitzinger, L. (1843). Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp. * Harvey, M. B. (1995). A preliminary list of the reptiles and amphibians of the El Refugio biological reserve. In: Forsyth, A. (ed.), A report on aspects of biodiversity and conservation potential in El Refugio. Hoplocercidae Fauna of the Cerrado Lizards of South America Reptiles of Bolivia Reptiles of Brazil Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger {{Lizard-stub

References

Further reading