''Celestus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
diploglossid 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 else ...
to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
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 be
paraphyletic and split those species into their own genera.
Species
*''
Celestus barbouri'' – limestone forest galliwasp
*''
Celestus crusculus'' – Jamaican galliwasp, Garman's galliwasp
*''
Celestus duquesneyi'' – Duquesney's galliwasp, blue-tailed galliwasp
*''
Celestus fowleri'' –
bromeliad galliwasp, Fowler's galliwasp
*''
Celestus hewardi'' – Heward's galliwasp
*''
Celestus macrolepis'' (possibly extinct)
*''
Celestus microblepharis'' – small-eyed galliwasp, tiny eyelid galliwasp
*''
Celestus molesworthi''
*''
Celestus occiduus
The Jamaican giant galliwasp or sinking galliwasp (''Celestus occiduus'') is a species of lizard in the Diploglossidae. It was endemic to Jamaica. It was last recorded in mid-19th century, with locals reporting unconfirmed sightings. Its populat ...
'' – Jamaican giant galliwasp (possibly extinct)
*''
Celestus striatus'' (possibly extinct)
''Nota bene'': a
binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Celestus''.
References
{{Lizard-stub