''Ameiva'', commonly called jungle-runners, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of whiptail

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s that belongs to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Teiidae Teiidae is a family of lacertoidean lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnophthalmidae, Gymnopthalmidae, and ...

Geographic range

Member

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the genus ''Ameiva'' are found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies). Their major habitat in four regions of Brazil include: Caatinga, Cerrado, the Amazonian rain forest, and the Amazonian savanna. Additionally, ''Ameiva ameiva'' has been Introduced species, introduced to Florida in the United States.

Species

Sourced from "The Reptile Database".''Ameiva''
The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database.org. ''Nota bene'': A Binomial nomenclature, binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Ameiva''.

Geographic range

Species

References

Further reading