Ameiva
Ameiva, commonly called jungle-runners, is a genus of whiptail lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae.
Ameiva | |
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Ameiva ameiva male | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Teiidae |
Genus: | Ameiva F. Meyer, 1795 |
Species | |
14, see text |
Geographic range
Member species of the genus Ameiva are found in South America, Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies). Their major habitat in four regions of Brazil include: Caatinga, Cerrado, the Amazonian rain forest, and the Amazonian savanna.[1] Additionally, Ameiva ameiva has been introduced to Florida in the United States.[2]
Species
Sourced from "The Reptile Database".[3]
Image | Name | Distribution |
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Ameiva aggerecusans Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013 | Peru | |
![]() | Ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758) – giant ameiva, green ameiva, South American ground lizard, Amazon racerunner | Central, South America, and some Caribbean Islands. |
![]() | Ameiva atrigularis (Garman, 1887) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner | Trinidad and Tobago and in Venezuela. |
Ameiva bifrontata Cope, 1862 – Cope's ameiva | Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. | |
Ameiva concolor (Ruthven, 1924) | Peru. | |
![]() | Ameiva fuliginosa (Cope, 1892) | Isla de Providencia, San Andrés, and the Swan Islands. |
Ameiva jacuba Giugliano, Nogueira, Valdujo, Collevatti & Colli, 2013 | Brazil. | |
Ameiva nodam Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013 | Peru. | |
Ameiva pantherina Ugueto & Harvey, 2011 | Venezuela. | |
Ameiva parecis (Colli, Costa, Garda, Kopp, Mesquita, Péres, Valdujo, Vieira & Wiederhecker, 2003) | Brazil. | |
![]() | Ameiva praesignis (Baird & Girard, 1852) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner | Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Colombia. |
Ameiva provitaae García-Pérez, 1995 | Venezuela. | |
Ameiva reticulata Landauro, Garcia-Bravo & Venegas, 2015 | Peru. | |
![]() | Ameiva tobagana Cope, 1879 – Antillean ameiva | Grenada and St. Vincent. |
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Ameiva.
References
- "Geographical ecology of a Neotropical lizard: AMeiva ameiva (Teiidae) in Brazil"
- Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Ameiva ameiva, pp. 120-121 + Plate 17 + Map 92).
- Ameiva. The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
External links
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