''Potamites'' 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 lizards 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 ...

Gymnophthalmidae Gymnophthalmidae is a family of lizards with at least 250 species, sometimes known commonly as spectacled lizards or microteiids. They are called "spectacled" because of their transparent lower eyelids, which allow them to still see with closed ...

. The genus is restricted to northern South America (

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

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 ...

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 ...

) and southern Central America (

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

). They are

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 ...

and found near streams.

Taxonomy and species

Until 2005, species now placed in ''Potamites'' were included in '' Neusticurus'', another genus containing semi-aquatic lizards of South America. Despite the move, some still have an English name that refers to their former genus, including ''P. strangulatus'', the big-scaled neusticurus. Even after this split, genetic studies revealed that ''Potamites'' was

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 to resolve this two species were moved to ''

Gelanesaurus ''Gelanesaurus'' is a genus of lizards in the Family (biology), family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus contains two species, which are native to Colombia and Ecuador. Both species were included in the genus ''Potamites'' until 2016 when they were mo ...

'' in 2016. The genus ''Potamites'' currently contains 8 valid species. Further changes are likely, as ''P. ecpleopus'' as currently defined is

, and it has been suggested that ''trachodus'', usually considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''P. strangulatus'', should be recognized as a separate species. *'' Potamites ecpleopus'' – common stream lizard *'' Potamites erythrocularis'' *'' Potamites hydroimperator'' *'' Potamites juruazensis'' *'' Potamites montanicola'' *'' Potamites ocellatus'' *'' Potamites strangulatus'' – big-scaled neusticurus *'' Potamites trachodus'' ( ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Potamites''.

References

Gymnophthalmidae Lizard genera Lizards of Central America Lizards of South America Taxa named by Tiffany M. Doan Taxa named by Todd Adam Castoe {{Gymnophthalmidae-stub