''Wetmorena'' is a genus of diploglossid

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 ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

, occurring in both the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

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 ...

Taxonomy

There are two species, both of which were formerly classified in the genus ''

Celestus ''Celestus'' is a genus of diploglossid lizards endemic to Jamaica and containing about 11 species, though three of these may be extinct. Formerly, this genus had more than 31 species, but a 2021 phylogenetic study found this classification to ...

'' until the genus ''Wetmorena'' was revived for them in 2021.

Conservation

Both species in the genus are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Etymology

The genus was named after American

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Early life and education The son of a Country Physician, Frank Al ...

Species

* ''

Wetmorena agasepsoides ''Wetmorena agasepsoides'', the serpentine four-toed galliwasp, is an endangered species of lizard of the Diploglossidae family endemic to the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; L ...

'' – serpentine four-toed galliwasp * '' Wetmorena haetiana'' – Hispaniolan earless galliwasp or earless galliwasp

References

{{Reflist Wetmorena Lizard genera Taxa named by Doris Mable Cochran Lizards of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Hispaniola