''Alexandresaurus'' 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 n ...
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 al ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Gymnophthalmidae
Gymnophthalmidae is a family of lizards with at least 250 species, sometimes known commonly as spectacled lizards or microteiids. They are called "spectacled" because of their transparent lower eyelids, which allow them to still see with closed ...
. The genus is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
, i.e., it contains only one species, ''Alexandresaurus camacan''. The species is
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 els ...
to
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 ...
.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
Etymology
The
generic name, ''Alexandresaurus'', is in honor of Brazilian naturalist
Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira
Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (April 27, 1756 – April 23, 1815) was a Portuguese naturalist born in Brazil. He undertook an extensive journey which crossed the interior of the Amazon Basin to Mato Grosso, between 1783 and 1792. During this jou ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Genus ''Alexandresaurus'', p. 4).
The
specific name, ''camacan'', is in honor of the
Camacan, an extinct indigenous people of Brazil.
[
]
Geographic range
''A. camacan'' is found in the Brazilian state of Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...
.[
]
Description
''A. camacan'' is large for its family. Maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) is . The tail is long, averaging about twice SVL.[
]
Reproduction
''A. camacan'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Freire EMX, Jorge JS, Sales RFD, Ribeiro MM, Andrade MJM, Sousa PAG (2013). "New record and geographic distribution map of ''Alexandresaurus camacan'' Rodrigues, Pellegrino, Dixo, Verdade, Pavan, Argôlo and Sites Jr., 2007 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) in northeastern Brazil". ''Check List'' 9 (4): 783–784.
* Matos MA, Camardelli M, Marciano E Jr (2013). "Geographic Distribution: ''Alexandresaurus camacan'' (Alexandre's Lizard, ''Calanguinho do Alexandre'')". ''Herpetological Review'' 44 (2): 273.
* Rodrigues MT, Pellegrino KCM, Dixo M, Verdade VK, Pavan D, Argôlo AJS, Sites JW Jr (2007). "A New Genus of Microteiid Lizard from the Atlantic Forests of State of Bahia, Brazil, with a New Generic Name for ''Colobosaura mentalis'', and a Discussion of Relationships Among the Heterodactylini (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae)". ''American Museum Novitates'' (3565): 1–27. (''Alexandresaurus'', new genus, pp. 5–7; ''A. camacan'', new species, pp. 7–15, Figures 1–4).
Gymnophthalmidae
Monotypic lizard genera
Taxa named by Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues
Taxa named by Kátia Cristina Machado Pellegrino
Taxa named by Marianna Dixo
Taxa named by Vanessa Kruth Verdade
Taxa named by Dante Pavan
Taxa named by Antônio Jorge Suzart Argôlo
Taxa named by Jack W. Sites Jr.
{{Lizard-stub