''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'', called commonly Underwood's spectacled tegu, is a
species of
microteiid lizard, which is found in
South America and on certain
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 ...
islands.
Etymology
''G. underwoodi'' is named after British herpetologist
Garth Leon Underwood.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'', p. 270).]
Reproduction
''G. underwoodi'' is a unisexual species, reproducing through
parthenogenesis. Captive specimens have been recorded laying up to eleven
eggs within four months, with between one and four eggs per
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
.
Geographic range
The geographic distribution of ''G. underwoodi'' includes the
islands of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
,
Martinique,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Barbados,
Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
,
Barbuda,
Trinidad, and
Tobago in the
Lesser Antilles; and
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, and
Venezuela in South America. It is also present on
Dominica
Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...
, which has been confirmed by both
Breuil (2002) and
Turk
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
et al. (2010). A recent incursion on
Saba has led to a widely occurring non-native population on the island.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat of ''G. underwoodi'' is
grassland.
Sources
*
*
References
External links
''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi ''at the
Encyclopedia of Life.
''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi ''at the Reptile Database.
Further reading
*
Grant C (1958). "A New ''Gymnophthalmus'' (Reptilia, Teiidae) from Barbados, B.W.I." ''Herpetologica'' 14 (4): 227–228. (''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'', new species).
*
Schwartz A,
Henderson RW (1991). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History''. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'', p. 411).
*Schwartz A,
Thomas R (1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'', pp. 123–124).
*
Turk PA,
Wyszynski NN,
Powell R,
Henderson RW (2010). "Population densities and water-loss rates of ''Gymnophthalmus pleii'', ''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi'' (Gymnophthalmidae), and ''Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fuga'' (Sphaerodactylidae) on Dominica, West Indies". ''Salamandra'' 46 (3): 125–130.
*
Williamson KE, Powell R (2004). "''Gymnophthalmus underwoodii'' ". ''Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles'' (793): 1–5.
Gymnophthalmus
Lizards of the Caribbean
Lizards of South America
Reptiles of Colombia
Reptiles of Suriname
Reptiles of Venezuela
Reptiles described in 1958
Taxa named by Chapman Grant
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