''Dracaena'' (romanized form of the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

δράκαινα - ''drakaina'', "female

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

"), 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 ...

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, also commonly called caiman lizards or water tegus, in 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 ...

, along with tegus and ameivas. Caiman lizards are native to

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 ...

, where they are found in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. These

semiaquatic In biology, being semi-aquatic refers to various macroorganisms that live regularly in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. When referring to animals, the term describes those that actively spend part of their daily time in water (in ...

lizards spend a lot of time in the water and inhabit marshes, streams, and flooded forests. Caiman lizards often bask on branches overhanging the water.

Classification

Extant Species

Listed alphabetically.''Dracaena''
The Reptile Database

Fossils

* †''

Paradracaena colombiana ''Paradracaena'' is an extinct genus of lizards from northern South America. Fossils of ''Paradracaena colombiana'' have been found in the Honda Group, Colombia, Honda Group of Colombia, Peru and Brazil . The species was described as a member of ...

'' - the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

(

Laventan The Laventan () age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colloncuran and precedes the Mayoan age. ...

)

Honda Group, Colombia The Honda Group (, Tsh, Ngh) is a group (geology), geological group of the Upper Magdalena Basin, Upper and Middle Magdalena Basins and the adjacent Cordillera Central (Colombia), Central and Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), Eastern Ranges of the ...

''Dracaena colombiana''
at

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

Sullivan & Estes, 1997, p. 102

Description

The caiman lizards are built similarly to their cousins the

tegu Tegu is a common name of a number of species of lizards that belong to the families Teiidae and Gymnophthalmidae. Tegus are native to Central and South America. They occupy a variety of habitats and are known for their large size and predato ...

s, with a large, heavyset body and short but powerful limbs. Their heads are bulky and often a red or orange color. Their jaws are heavily muscular to help aid in eating its normal prey of snails, crawfish and fresh water clams. They also have a few adaptations that help them in their watery habitat. They have long, laterally flattened tails, similar to their namesake, the

yacare caiman The yacare caiman (''Caiman yacare''), also known commonly as the jacare caiman, Paraguayan caiman, piranha caiman, red caiman, and southern spectacled caiman, is a species of caiman, a crocodilian in the family Alligatoridae. The species is end ...

. The long tails help the caiman lizards to successfully swim and dive. They also have clear third eyelids which are thought to act like a pair of goggles underwater. The coloration of the

northern caiman lizard The northern caiman lizard (''Dracaena guianensis'') is a species of lizard found in northern South America. Appearance The northern caiman lizard is built similarly to its cousin the tegu, with a large heavy set body and short but powerful lim ...

(''Dracaena guianensis'') is very similar to that of a crocodile. It is typically bright green with slight dark green banding. The Paraguayan caiman lizard (''

Dracaena paraguayensis ''Dracaena paraguayensis'', the Paraguay caiman lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is found in Northern Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country loca ...

'') is typically much more drab, with a gray body and head. There are tough raised scutes along the dorsal portion of the back. These give the caiman lizards a crocodilian appearance and help to provide some protection against predators. These lizards can become up to long and weigh up to .

Captivity

Caiman lizards are kept in private collections, but they are not yet kept in large numbers due to their tendency to only accept snails and their high price. Additionally, caiman lizards are arboreal, aquatic and burrowing, so suitable enclosures are usually only made by zoos. Caiman lizards born in captivity have been known to take a variety of food items, including snails, fish, cat food and crustaceans. Their temperament is comparable to that of a tegu.

References

Bibliography

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q655798 Lizard genera Lizards of South America Taxa named by François Marie Daudin