''Tropidurus etheridgei'', also known
commonly as Etheridge's 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
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 ...
of 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 Tropiduridae are a family of iguanid lizards."Tropiduridae". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. The family is sometimes considered a subfamily, Tropidurinae. The subfamily is native to South America, including the islands of Tri ...
. 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
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.
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 ...
, ''etheridgei'', is in honor of American herpetologist
Richard Emmett Etheridge
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Tropidurus etheridgei'', p. 86).]
Geographic range
''T. etheridgei'' is found in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
,
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s of ''T. etheridgei'' are
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
.
Reproduction
''T. etheridgei'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...
.
[
]
References
Further reading
* Avila LJ, Martinez LE, Morando M (2013). "Checklist of lizards and amphisbaenians of Argentina: an update". ''Zootaxa'' 3613 (3): 201–238.
* Cacciali P, Köhler G (2019). "Diversity of ''Tropidurus'' (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in Paraguay—an integrative taxonomic approach based on morphological and molecular genetic evidence". ''Zootaxa'' 4375 (4): 511–536.
* Cei JM (1982). "A new species of ''Tropidurus'' (Sauria, Iguanidae) from the arid Chacoan and western regions of Argentina". ''Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas'' (97): 1–10. (''Tropidurus etheridgei'', new species). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).
* Cruz FB, Silva S, Scrocchi GJ (1998). "Ecology of the lizard ''Tropidurus etheridgei'' (Squamata: Tropiduridae) from the dry Chaco of Salta, Argentina". ''Herpetological Natural History'' 6 (1): 23–31. (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).
* Dirksen L, De la Riva I (1999). "The lizards and amphisbaenians of Bolivia (Reptilia, Squamata): checklist, localities, and bibliography". ''Graellsia'' 55: 199–215. (''Tropidurus etheridgei'', p. 207). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).
Tropidurus
Reptiles described in 1982
Lizards of Brazil
Reptiles of Bolivia
Reptiles of Argentina
Reptiles of Paraguay
Taxa named by José Miguel Alfredo María Cei
{{Tropiduridae-stub