''Uranoscodon'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

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 iguanomorph lizard belonging to 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 ...

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 Neotropical ground lizards. Its sole member, ''Uranoscodon superciliosus'', is commonly known as the diving lizard, brown tree climber or mophead iguana. It is found near water 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 ...

of South America.

Taxonomy

''Uranoscodon'' was first described as a genus in 1825 by the German

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Johann Jakob Kaup Johann Jakob von Kaup (10 April 1803 – 4 July 1873) was a German naturalist. A proponent of natural philosophy, he believed in an innate mathematical order in nature and he attempted biological classifications based on the Quinarian system. Kaup ...

, its only species being ''Lacerta superciliosa'' which had been described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in the 10th edition of his

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

published in 1758. Linnaeus gave the type locality as "Indiis", however, in 1973 this was narrowed down to the confluence of the

Cottica River Cottica River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kotika-liba'') is a river in the northeast of Suriname. It originates in the hills surrounding town of Moengo and flows westwards and enters the Commewijne River Commewijne River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kawina-liba'') ...

and Perica Creek in Suriname. The genus ''Uranoscodon'' is

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

within the family Tropiduridae which, in turn, is within the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Iguanoidea within the

infraorder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between Family_(biology), family and Class_(biology), class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classific ...

Iguanomorpha 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 believed t ...

, which is also known as Iguania.

Description

''Uranoscodon superciliosus'' has a relatively small head, with a body and tail which show latero-lateral compression but it is not extremely flattened. It has a relatively long tail and legs. The overall colour is brown. There is a frill around the heads of adults which gives rise to the common name mop-headed iguana. The snout-vent length is up to with the tail being twice as long; sexual maturity is reached at a snout-vent length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Uranoscodon superciliosus'' is found in the Amazonian regions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, eastern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, Bolivia and northeastern Peru. However, in Peru it is known only a single locality near to the Colombian/Brazilian border and it has not been recorded in Ecuador. This species occurs in

igapó (, from Tupi language, Old Tupi: "root forest") is a word used in Brazil for Blackwater river, blackwater-flooded forests in the Amazon biome. These forests and similar swamp forests are seasonally inundated with freshwater. They typically occur ...

and várzea flood forests and in

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

areas of ''terre firme'' forests, i.e. forests not subjected to seasonal flooding.

Biology

''Uranoscodon superciliosus'' spends most of its time on tree trunks and is largely insectivorous. It is an

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey u ...

which feeds mainly on

orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...

ns,

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es,

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s, as well small vertebrates like frogs. They seem to eat the largest amount of larvae around the period of peak egg laying in July to November. When threatened these lizards are known to dive into water. They lay up to 16 eggs and are known to nest in burrows or in tree hollows.

Utilisation

''Uranoscodon superciliosus'' is occasionally traded in the pet trade. In Brazil these lizards are hunted illegally to be used in

Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...

ceremonies to treat impotence.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14178514, from2=Q2175290 Tropiduridae Monotypic lizard genera Reptiles of Bolivia Lizards of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Peru Reptiles of Suriname Reptiles of Venezuela Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup