''Microlophus grayii'', commonly known as the Floreana lava lizard, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
lava lizard
''Microlophus'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards native to South America. Around 20 species are recognized and 10 of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where they are commonly known as lava lizardsBenavides E, Baum R, Snell HM, Snell ...
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 ...
Tropiduridae. 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 the
Galapagos island of
Floreana.
Taxonomy
The species, ''Microlophus grayii'', is commonly assigned to the genus ''
Microlophus'' but has been assigned to the genus ''
Tropidurus''.
[''Microlophus grayii'']
The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. It has also been assigned to the family
Tropiduridae.
[
]
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''grayii'', is in honor of British herpetologist John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoology, zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ...
.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Microlophus grayii'', p. 107).]
References
Further reading
* Bell T (1843). ''The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Edited and Superintended by Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
... Naturalist to the Expedition. Part 5. Reptiles.'' London: Smith, Elder and Company. vi + 51 pp. + Plates 1-20. (''Leiocephalus grayii'', new species, p. 24 + Plate 14, figure 1). (in English and Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
).
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (''Tropidurus grayi'', pp. 172–173).
* Frost DR (1992). "Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomy of the ''Tropidurus'' Group of Lizards (Iguania: Tropiduridae)". ''American Museum Novitates'' (3033): 1-68. (''Microlophus grayii'', p. 48).
grayii
Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands
Lizards of South America
Reptiles of Ecuador
Reptiles described in 1843
Taxa named by Thomas Bell (zoologist)
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