The rainbow whiptail (''Cnemidophorus lemniscatus'') is a species of lizard found in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and northern

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 ...

. It has also been introduced in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and has established populations there. A rainbow whiptail grows up to approximately 12 inches (30.5 cm). Both

sexually reproducing Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete (haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote that d ...

and

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...

populations are known. File:Cnemidophorus lemniscatus (01).JPG,

Tayrona National Natural Park The Tayrona National Natural Park () is a protected area in the Colombian northern Caribbean region and within the jurisdiction of the city of Santa Marta, from the city centre. The park presents a biodiversity endemic to the area of the Sier ...

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 ...

File:Cnemidophorus lemniscatus blue (cropped).JPG, Blue specimen in

Providencia Island Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia or Providence, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, or T ...

, Colombia File:Rainbow Ameiva.jpg, Tayrona National Natural Park, Colombia File:Rainbow whiptail (Cnemidophorus lemniscatus) - Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona 05.jpg, Rainbow whiptail at Tayrona Natural Park. File:Rainbow whiptail (Cnemidophorus lemniscatus) Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona 04.jpg, Struggle between two ''Cnemidophorus lemniscatus''.

References

Cnemidophorus Lizards of Central America Lizards of the Caribbean Reptiles of Belize Lizards of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Costa Rica Reptiles of El Salvador Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guatemala Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Honduras Reptiles of Nicaragua Reptiles of Panama Reptiles of Suriname Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Teiidae-stub