''Pholidoscelis plei'', known commonly as the Anguilla Bank ameiva or the Caribbean ameiva, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 ...

. The species is found on the Caribbean islands of

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

, Saint Martin, and

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...

in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

. Its coloration and markings vary between each

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

population. Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the

nominotypical 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 ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''plei'', is in honor of French botanist Auguste Plée.

Populations

Anguilla

The Anguilla Bank ameiva is found on the main island of Anguilla and most of its satellites, where it is common.. Among those populations, adults are gray-brown tinged with green-blue. Adults have white to light green spots on their flanks that can merge towards the posterior to form a barred pattern, with some variability between populations in the distinctiveness or presence of the stripes. Its

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

surface lacks markings and is light blue to white. Juveniles are brown with seven light stripes that are sometimes broken. Males reach a maximum of snout-to-vent length (SVL), while females reach SVL; however, maximum sizes vary between populations on different islands.

Saint Martin

The Anguilla Bank ameiva population on the main

of Saint Martin was described as a separate subspecies, ''P. p. analifera,'' in 1992. It differs from other populations by having faded stripes, and three to five vertical black bars or bands across the shoulder area in larger individuals. It is restricted to very localized populations on Saint Martin due to

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

from the widespread

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 ...

, which causes it to be absent from many areas in which it would otherwise thrive. Ameiva Plei on Saint Martin

Saint Barthélemy

Populations of Anguilla Bank ameivas on

differ considerably in appearance between islands.See Saint Barthélemy account and description in . On the main island, its ground color is green-brown with green-blue sides, and it is heavily spotted with green to cream-colored spots. On Île Fourchue, it is uniformly reddish-brown with little marking on its dorsal side, and spots or bars on its sides.

Habitat

The natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of ''P. plei'' are

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and marine intertidal.

Reproduction

''P. plei'' is oviparous.

Notes

References

*Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . * Cope ED (1870). "Seventh Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America" ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia'' 11: 147–169. (''Ameiva analifera'', new species, pp. 158-159). * Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1839). ''Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième'' olume 5 Paris: Roret. viii + 854 pp. (''Ameiva plei'', new species, pp. 114-116). (in French). * Goicoechea N, Frost DR, De la Riva I, Pellegrino KCM, Sites J Jr, Rodrigues MT, Padial JM (2016). "Molecular systematics of teioid lizards (Teioidea/Gymnophthalmoidea: Squamata) based on the analysis of 48 loci under tree-alignment and similarity-alignment". ''Cladistics'' 32 (6): 624–671. (''Pholidoscelis plei'', new combination). * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q28949665 plei Reptiles of Anguilla Reptiles of Saint Barthélemy Reptiles of Saint Martin (island) Reptiles of the Caribbean Reptiles described in 1839 Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron