The Montserrat ameiva (''Pholidoscelis pluvianotatus'') 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 ...

species in the genus ''

Pholidoscelis Pholidoscelis is a genus of lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae. All species are endemic to the West Indies. Classification Listed alphabetically.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 ...

island of

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

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 betwe ...

Description

The species is variable in color and pattern. The dorsal surface on males is reddish or gray-tan, with black speckling and lighter marbling; or it is dull green with slight markings and a dark blue head. The male's ventral surface is dull gray, and it has blue-gray spots on its upper thighs and sides of its tail. Females have a gray dorsal surface and a bluish underside. It is covered with light, widespread spots on its back, sides, legs, and tail. The flanks on females are dull green, sometimes with brown stripes present.

Taxonomy

The Montserrat ameiva was described in 1887 by American herpetologist

Samuel Garman Samuel Walton Garman (June 5, 1843 – September 30, 1927), or "Garmann" as he sometimes styled himself, was a naturalist/zoologist from Pennsylvania. He became noted as an ichthyologist and herpetologist. Biography Garman was born in Indian ...

(1843–1927) as ''Ameiva pluvianotata''. In 2016, the species was moved to ''

Pholidoscelis Pholidoscelis is a genus of lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae. All species are endemic to the West Indies. Classification Listed alphabetically.genetic sequencing Genetic Sequencing may refer to: * DNA sequencing * Whole genome sequencing Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entiret ...

and

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses. The Redonda ground lizard is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Montserrat ameiva, though it is currently accepted as a separate species, ''

Pholidoscelis atratus The Redonda ameiva (''Pholidoscelis atratus'') is a species of lizard found only on Redonda. It is sometimes described as a subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in diff ...

'', in The Reptile Database. The Redonda ground lizard is found only on the uninhabited island of

Redonda Redonda is an uninhabited Caribbean island that is a part of Antigua and Barbuda, in the Leeward Islands, West Indies. The island is about long, wide, and is high at its highest point. This small island lies between the islands of Nevis and ...

, which is within the jurisdiction of

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

(though geographically closer to Montserrat). The Redonda ground lizard is darkly colored, similar to the Sombrero ameiva and

Censky's ameiva Censky's ameiva (''Pholidoscelis corax''), also known as the Little Scrub Island ground lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is indigenous to the Caribbean. Description ''P. corax'' is a melanistic species, superficially s ...

that also live on small and barren Caribbean islands.

Conservation

The Montserrat ameiva is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island Montserrat. Although it was formerly widespread across Montserrat, its populations, as with other wildlife on the island, have declined significantly since the

Soufrière Hills volcano Soufrière may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places Towns and villages *Soufrière, Dominica, a village on the southwest coast of Dominica in the Caribbean *Petit Soufrière, Dominica, a village on the east coast of Dominica *Soufrière, Saint Lucia, a town ...

became active in 1995, with at least a third of its habitat destroyed. The lizard is also threatened by development, including forest

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and invasive species. Because of the extent of its habitat destruction, it is listed as a near threatened species on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28949666 Pholidoscelis Reptiles of Montserrat Endemic fauna of Montserrat Reptiles described in 1887 Reptiles of the Caribbean Taxa named by Samuel Garman