''Xenosaurus'' 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 ...
of
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 ...
s. ''Xenosaurus'' is the only extant genus in the
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 ...
Xenosauridae
Xenosauridae is a family of anguimorph lizards whose only living representative is the genus '' Xenosaurus'', which is native to Central America. Xenosauridae also includes the extinct genera '' Exostinus'' and '' Restes''. Also known as knob-scal ...
with 13 species currently recognized.
["Xenosauridae" and "''Xenosaurus'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.] Also known as the Middle American knob-scaled lizards found in southwestern Tamaulipas and eastern Guerrero on the Atlantic and Pacific versants of Mexico, respectively, south and east to Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
[
] They can be found between 300 m and 2360 m of elevation in a wide variety of habitats ranging from xerophytic tropical scrub to cloud forest to tropical rain forest.
Where they occupy moderately diverse places, including crevices and holes in limestone, spaces under volcanic boulders, crevices in volcanic rocks, karst limestone, limestone terrain, and hollow logs in dry areas where trees are sparse.
A flattened body shape and a crevice-dwelling ecology generally characterize species in the group. In part because of their habitat specialization, all of the known species and subspecies are allopatric, and several have small geographic distributions.
Dorsal scales are heteromorphic, not imbrication, and some are conical or developed into enlarged tubercles separated by small granular scales. Ventral scales are flat, quadrate, and arranged in transverse rows. Head scales are generally small, tuberculate, and sometimes conical or rugose, but may be enlarged along the rostra and temporal ridges. Supraoculars also are enlarged, flattened, and in a single longitudinal row. The skin of the neck is loose and expanded, producing at least two angular fold. These lizards are known to feed on a variety of crawling and flying insects. This genus mostly eats orthopterans, coleopterans (beetles), dipterans, and myriapods.
Species
The following 13
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 ...
are recognized as being valid.
*''
Xenosaurus agrenon''
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Xenosaurus arboreus''
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Xenosaurus fractus''
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Xenosaurus grandis
''Xenosaurus grandis'', commonly known as the knob-scaled lizard, is a species of diurnal, terrestrial lizard endemic to Mexico and Guatemala. It primarily inhabits tropical rainforests. It dwells in rock crevices and eats insects.
Etymology ...
''
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Xenosaurus manipulus''
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Xenosaurus mendozai''
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Xenosaurus newmanorum''
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Xenosaurus penai''
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Xenosaurus phalaroanthereon''
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Xenosaurus platyceps
''Xenosaurus platyceps'', the flathead knob-scaled lizard, is a lizard found in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. Its natural habitat is dry scrub forest and oak savanna. The species is endangered due to habitat fragmentation for the deve ...
''
*''
Xenosaurus rackhami''
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Xenosaurus rectocollaris''
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Xenosaurus tzacualtipantecus''
''
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 ''Xenosaurus''.
References
Further reading
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Peters W (1861). "''Eine neue Gattung von Eidechsen, ''Xenosaurus fasciatus'', aus Mexico''
A new genus of lizards, ''Xenosaurus fasciatus'', from Mexico. ''Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie zu Berlin'' 1861: 453–454. (''Xenosaurus'', new genus). (in German).
External links
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Xenosauridae
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
Lizard genera
{{lizard-stub