''Oplurus'' 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 ...

Malagasy Malagasy may refer to: *Someone or something from Madagascar *Malagasy people *Malagasy language *Malagasy Republic *Related to the culture of Madagascar See also *Madagascar (disambiguation) Madagascar is an island country located off the east ...

iguania Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believe ...

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 ...

s, most of which are rock-dwelling

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

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 ...

. The sister genus to ''Oplurus'' is ''Chalarodon'', which contains two species: ''

Chalarodon madagascariensis ''Chalarodon madagascariensis'' is a species of Malagasy terrestrial iguanian lizard native to western, southern, and south eastern Madagascar. Until 2015, it was thought to be the only member of its genus, but a second species, ''C. steinkamp ...

'' and ''

Chalarodon steinkampi ''Chalarodon steinkampi'' is a species of Malagasy terrestrial iguanian lizards. It was recognised as a new species in 2015, which is probably microendemic to a small area in south eastern Madagascar. Habitat The species inhabits areas very si ...

'', which are terrestrial iguanas and easily distinguished from ''Oplurus'' by its smaller size and the presence of a distinct

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

crest.

Species

The six recognized species in the genus ''Oplurus'' comprise two distinct clades. Uwe Schlüter (2013). ''Madagaskarleguane - Lebensweise, Pflege und Fortpflanzung''. KUS-Verlag, Rheinstetten. . *Spiny-tailed

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

clade: ** Merrem's Madagascar swift (''

Oplurus cyclurus ''Oplurus cyclurus'', also known commonly as the Madagascar swift and Merrem's Madagascar swift, is a species of lizard in the family Opluridae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. It is arboreal and has a mostly insectivorous diet. Its breedi ...

'') **Collared iguanid (''

Oplurus cuvieri ''Oplurus cuvieri'', commonly known as the collared iguana, the collared iguanid lizard, Cuvier's Madagascar skink, Cuvier's Madagascar swift, and the Madagascan collared iguana, is a species of arboreal lizard in the family Opluridae. The speci ...

'') *

Saxicolous A saxicolous lichen is a lichen that grows on rock. The prefix "sax" from the Latin means "rock" or "stone". Characteristics Saxicolous lichens exhibit very slow growth rates. They may develop on rock substrates for long periods of time, giv ...

(rock dwelling) clade: **Madagascar blue iguana (''

Oplurus fierinensis ''Oplurus fierinensis'', also known as the Anzamala Madagascar swift or Madagascar blue iguana, is a saxicolous (rock dwelling) iguana endemic to Madagascar. Description As the name suggests, the Madagascar blue iguana is blue, although can be ...

'') (greyish-blue without dark dorsal bands) ** Grandidier's Madagascar swift ('' Oplurus grandidieri'' (with light mid-dorsal band) ** Duméril's Madagascar swift (''

Oplurus quadrimaculatus ''Oplurus quadrimaculatus'', the Duméril's Madagascar Swift or Madagascar spotted spiny-tailed iguana, is a terrestrial malagasy iguana belonging to the family Opluridae. Description ''Oplurus quadrimaculatus'' can reach a length of . This igu ...

'') (with four dorsal bands, dorsal scales coarsely granular) **Marked Madagascar swift ('' Oplurus saxicola'') (different darker color pattern, dorsal scales finely granular) Because of differences is appearance (i.e. the lack of a black neck band), possibly a larger body, and its geographic isolation, the form of ''

'' species found on the Comoro archipelago has recently been given full species rank, as ''

Oplurus comorensis ''Oplurus'' is a genus of Malagasy iguanian lizards, most of which are rock-dwelling terrestrial species. The sister genus to ''Oplurus'' is ''Chalarodon'', which contains two species: ''Chalarodon madagascariensis'' and ''Chalarodon steink ...

'' (Meirte 2004). However the

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

research concludes that this full species status is unwarranted.

Distribution

All six species of ''Oplurus'' are all found in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, with five being

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 ...

. ''

'' is also found on

Grande Comore Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is ...

. Subfossil remains of a large, extinct, species have also been found on

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

. The two spiny-tailed species (''

'', ''

'') and ''

'' are found in the arid parts of the south and west of

, whilst the other three species are found on the ground and rocks in the central and southern highland regions and the south. ''

'' is the most widely distributed, and the only species found in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park.

Species

Distribution

References

Further reading