''Celestus'' 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 diploglossid

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 mostly

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

(aside from a single species endemic to

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

) and containing about 11 species, though three of these may be

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. They are commonly known as galliwasps although the origin of this name is unclear. Formerly, this genus had more than 31 species, but a 2021 phylogenetic study found this classification to be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

and split those species into their own genera. A more recent study found that several ecomorphs exist on Jamaica including a swamp ecomorph, a tree ecomorph, and a ground ecomorph.

Species

*'' Celestus barbouri'' – limestone forest galliwasp *'' Celestus crusculus'' – Jamaican forest galliwasp *'' Celestus duquesneyi'' – blue-tailed forest galliwasp *'' Celestus fowleri'' – bromeliad forest galliwasp *'' Celestus hewardi'' – red-spotted forest galliwasp *'' Celestus macrolepis'' – large-scaled forest galliwasp (possibly extinct) *'' Celestus macrotus''

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

& Hedges, 1989 – La Selle forest galliwasp *'' Celestus microblepharis'' – small-eyed forest galliwasp *'' Celestus molesworthi'' – Portland Coast forest galliwasp *'' Celestus occiduus'' – Jamaican giant galliwasp (possibly extinct) *'' Celestus striatus'' – golden forest galliwasp (possibly extinct) ''Nota bene'': a

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Celestus''.

References

External links

* Celestus Lizard genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Lizard-stub

Species

References

Further reading

External links