''Tropidurus'' 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 ...

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s. The genus includes many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

ground lizards (

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 ...

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 ...

). ''Tropidurus'' is the type genus of the family Tropiduridae.

Geographic range and habitat

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the genus ''Tropidurus'' are found on the

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 ...

n mainland, especially in the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

, but also in more

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

regions.

Common name

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

is widely used solely for species of the genus ''Tropidurus''. In their native range, they are simply called ''lagartixa'', as are most similar animals. If anything, the

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 ...

ian term ''calango'' is used to particularly refer to lizards of the genus ''Tropidurus''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Tropidurus'' contains 30 described species, but new ones continue to be discovered. An additional seven species—the

Galápagos lava lizards ''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 lizards Benavides, Edgar; Baum, Rebecca; Sn ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

—are sometimes placed here, too, but more commonly separated in the genus ''

Microlophus ''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 lizards Benavides, Edgar; Baum, Rebecca; Sn ...

'', instead. Similarly, the

green thornytail iguana The green thornytail iguana (''Uracentron azureum'') is an arboreal species of lizard from the Amazon rainforest and forests in the Guiana Shield. It is found in Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, northeastern Peru, southern Venezuela, a ...

and tropical thorny iguana are now often separated into the minor, but probably distinct ''

Uracentron ''Uracentron'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards found in forests in northern South America. It contains only two species, which are both arboreal, have a relatively short spiny tail, and mainly feed on ants.Avila-Pires (1995). ''Lizards of Braz ...

'' lineage, instead. In this article, these two genera are kept separate, while ''Platynotus'', ''Strobilurus'', and ''Tapinurus'' are included in ''Tropidurus''.

Description

Males and females of all ''Tropidurus'' species are marked differently. The male is usually much larger than the female, and his body is more brightly coloured and distinctly patterned. The typical size of ''Tropidurus'' lizards varies greatly from

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

to habitat as does the pattern of body markings, even among individuals of the same species. Like many lizards, they show changes of colour with mood and temperature.

Species

These species are recognized as being valid: *''

Tropidurus azurduyae ''Tropidurus azurduyae'' is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features divers ...

'' *''

Tropidurus bogerti ''Tropidurus bogerti'', the keeled lava lizard, is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, ...

'' – keeled lava lizard *'' Tropidurus callathelys'' *'' Tropidurus catalanensis'' *'' Tropidurus chromatops'' *'' Tropidurus cocorobensis'' *''

Tropidurus erythrocephalus ''Tropidurus erythrocephalus'' is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and d ...

'' *'' Tropidurus etheridgei'' – Etheridge's lava lizard *''

Tropidurus guarani ''Tropidurus guarani'' is a species of lizard in the family Tropiduridae. The species is native to central South America. Etymology The specific name, ''guarani'', refers to the Guarani language and culture of Paraguay. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Mi ...

'' *''

Tropidurus helenae ''Tropidurus helenae'' is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Tropiduridae. The species is native to northeastern Brazil. Etymology The Specific name (zoology), specific name, ''helenae'', is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist s ...

'' *'' Tropidurus hispidus'' – Peters's lava lizard, neotropical lava lizard *'' Tropidurus hygomi'' – Reinhardt's lava lizard *'' Tropidurus imbituba'' *'' Tropidurus insulanus'' *''

Tropidurus itambere ''Tropidurus itambere'' is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependen ...

'' *'' Tropidurus jaguaribanus'' *'' Tropidurus lagunablanca'' Carvalho ALG (2016)
"Three new species of the ''Tropidurus spinulosus'' group (Squamata: Tropiduridae) from Eastern Paraguay".
''American Museum Novitates'' (3853): 1-44. *'' Tropidurus melanopleurus'' – black lava lizard *'' Tropidurus montanus'' *'' Tropidurus mucujensis'' *''

Tropidurus oreadicus ''Tropidurus oreadicus'' or better known in Brazil as ''calango'' is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is endemic to Brazil and widely distributed in the biomes of Cerrado. and Caatinga. Males grow to and females to in snout� ...

'' *''

Tropidurus pinima ''Tropidurus pinima'' is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependenci ...

'' *''

Tropidurus psammonastes ''Tropidurus'' is a genus of reptiles. The genus includes many species of Neotropical ground lizards (family Tropiduridae). ''Tropidurus'' is the type genus of the family Tropiduridae. Geographic range and habitat Species in the genus ''Tropid ...

'' *'' Tropidurus semitaeniatus'' – striped lava lizard *'' Tropidurus sertanejo'' Carvalho ALG et al. (2016)
"A new ''Tropidurus'' (Tropiduridae) from the semiarid Brazilian Caatinga: evidence for conflicting signal between mitochondrial and nuclear loci affecting the phylogenetic reconstruction of South American collared lizards".
''American Museum Novitates'' (3852): 1-66. *'' Tropidurus spinulosus'' – spiny lava lizard *''

Tropidurus torquatus ''Tropidurus torquatus'' is a species of lizard in the family Tropiduridae, the Neotropical ground lizards. Its common name is Amazon lava lizard. The species is endemic to South America. There are no subspecies. Etymology The specific name, ''t ...

'' – Amazon lava lizard *'' Tropidurus xanthochilus'' ''

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 taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Tropidurus''.

Geographic range and habitat

Common name

Taxonomy

Description

Species

References

Further reading