''Tropidurus'' is a

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 ...

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s. The genus includes many

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 ...

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

ground lizards (

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

Tropiduridae The Tropiduridae are a family of iguanid lizards."Tropiduridae". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. The family is sometimes considered a subfamily, Tropidurinae. The subfamily is native to South America, including the islands of Trin ...

). ''Tropidurus'' is the type genus of the family Tropiduridae.

Geographic range and habitat

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 ...

in the genus ''Tropidurus'' are found on the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n mainland, especially in the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

, but also in more

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...

regions.

Common name

No widely common name is used solely for species of the genus ''Tropidurus''. In their native range, they are simply called "Lagartixa" as are most similar animals. If anything, the

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 ...

ian term ''calango'' is used to particularly refer to lizards of the genus ''Tropidurus''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Tropidurus'' contains 30 described species, but new ones continue to be discovered. An additional seven species—the Galápagos lava lizards

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

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

—are sometimes placed here, too, but more commonly separated in the genus ''

Microlophus ''Microlophus'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards native to South America. Around 20 species are recognized and 10 of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where they are commonly known as lava lizardsBenavides E, Baum R, Snell HM, Snell ...

'', instead. Similarly, the green thornytail iguana and tropical thorny iguana are now often separated into the minor, but probably distinct ''

Uracentron ''Uracentron'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards found in forests in northern South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the ...

'' lineage, instead. In this article, these two genera are kept separate, while ''Platynotus'', ''Strobilurus'', and ''Tapinurus'' are included in ''Tropidurus''.

Description

Males and females of all ''Tropidurus'' species are marked differently. The male is usually much larger than the female, and his body is more brightly coloured and distinctly patterned. The typical size of ''Tropidurus'' lizards varies greatly from

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 ...

to habitat as does the pattern of body markings, even among individuals of the same species. Like many lizards, they show changes of colour with mood and temperature.

Species

These species are recognized as being valid: *'' Tropidurus azurduyae'' *'' Tropidurus bogerti'' – keeled lava lizard *'' Tropidurus callathelys'' *'' Tropidurus catalanensis'' *'' Tropidurus chromatops'' *'' Tropidurus cocorobensis'' *'' Tropidurus erythrocephalus'' *'' Tropidurus etheridgei'' – Etheridge's lava lizard *'' Tropidurus guarani'' *'' Tropidurus helenae'' *'' Tropidurus hispidus'' – Peters's lava lizard, neotropical lava lizard *'' Tropidurus hygomi'' – Reinhardt's lava lizard *'' Tropidurus imbituba'' *'' Tropidurus insulanus'' *'' Tropidurus itambere'' *'' Tropidurus jaguaribanus'' *'' Tropidurus lagunablanca'' Carvalho ALG (2016)
"Three new species of the ''Tropidurus spinulosus'' group (Squamata: Tropiduridae) from Eastern Paraguay".
''American Museum Novitates'' (3853): 1-44. *'' Tropidurus melanopleurus'' – black lava lizard *'' Tropidurus montanus'' *'' Tropidurus mucujensis'' *'' Tropidurus oreadicus'' *'' Tropidurus pinima'' *'' Tropidurus psammonastes'' *'' Tropidurus semitaeniatus'' – striped lava lizard *'' Tropidurus sertanejo'' Carvalho ALG et al. (2016)
"A new ''Tropidurus'' (Tropiduridae) from the semiarid Brazilian Caatinga: evidence for conflicting signal between mitochondrial and nuclear loci affecting the phylogenetic reconstruction of South American collared lizards".
''American Museum Novitates'' (3852): 1-66. *'' Tropidurus spinulosus'' – spiny lava lizard *''

Tropidurus torquatus ''Tropidurus torquatus'' is a species of lizard in the family Tropiduridae, the Neotropical ground lizards. Its common name is Amazon lava lizard.Embert, D. 2010''Tropidurus torquatus''.In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version ...

'' – Amazon lava lizard *'' Tropidurus xanthochilus'' ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Tropidurus''.

Geographic range and habitat

Common name

Taxonomy

Description

Species

References

Further reading