Curly-tailed lizard
Curly-tailed lizard | |
---|---|
Leiocephalus carinatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Clade: | Pleurodonta |
Family: | Leiocephalidae Frost & Etheridge , 1989
|
Genus: | Leiocephalus Gray, 1827[1] |
Leiocephalidae, also known as the curlytail lizards or curly-tailed lizards, is a family of iguanian lizards restricted to the West Indies. One of the defining features of these lizards is that their tail often curls over. They were previously regarded as members of the subfamily Leiocephalinae within the family Tropiduridae. There are presently 30 known species, all in the genus Leiocephalus.
Taxonomy
Phylogenetic analysis on the genus supports some members of the now-extinct Lesser Antillean Leiocephalus radiation being the most basal of the recent Leiocephalus, with the last-surviving members of this group,
Distribution
Curlytail lizards are native to the
Former distribution
Curlytail lizards formerly had a much wider native range, being distributed south to
General anatomy
The curly-tailed lizards vary in size depending on species, but typically are approximately 9 cm (3.5 in) in snout-to-vent length. These lizards have no femoral pores, pterygoid teeth, or palatine teeth. Additionally, these lizards are observed to have overlapping scales.[4]
Behavior
The curly-tailed lizards mostly forage on
As suggested by their name, most species of this family often lift their tail and curl it. This is done both when a potential predator is present and when not present, although in some curly-tailed lizard species it increases when a predator is present. It shows the fitness of the lizard to a would-be predator and—in the case of an attack—draws attention to the tail, which increases the lizard's chance of escaping.[10][11] Although it has been suggested that it also functions as a territorial display,[6] studies have been unable to find support for this, as the tail curling does not vary when another member of the same species is present.[11]
Conservation status and extinctions
The conservation status of the species in this family varies greatly. Several species, for example Leiocephalus carinatus, are common and widespread. Others are rare and highly threatened, especially those restricted to a single small island or a single location on a larger island, like the
Several species of Leiocephalus are already
In modern times, three species, Leiocephalus endomychus, Leiocephalus pratensis and Leiocephalus rhutidira, have not been seen since the 1960s and 1970s and are recognized as critically endangered, possibly extinct, by the
Newly discovered species
Lizards of this family are diurnal and mostly inhabit fairly open habitats in a generally well-studied part of the world. Consequently, the majority of the species and subspecies already were scientifically described several decades ago. In 2016, the first new curly-tailed lizard since the early 1980s was described. The species was found in the coastal dunes of Bahía de las Calderas in the southwestern Dominican Republic. This species differs from the rest within Leiocephalidae in that its bony parietal table is U-shaped versus V-shaped, the males have 3–4 enlarged post-postcloacal scales versus 2, and there are specific sexual dimorphism trails.[17]
Species and subspecies
The following species and subspecies, listed alphabetically by scientific name, are recognized as being valid by the Reptile Database.[18]
Extant and recently extinct species
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Subspecies | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leiocephalus barahonensis Schmidt, 1921 | orange-bellied curlytail |
|
Hispaniola | |
Leiocephalus carinatus Gray, 1827 | saw-scaled curlytail, northern curly-tailed lizard |
|
Bahama Islands, the Cayman Islands and Cuba | |
Leiocephalus cubensis (Gray, 1840) | Cuban brown curlytail, Cuban curlytail lizard | Cuba. | ||
Leiocephalus endomychus A. Schwartz, 1967 | Hinche curlytail, Central Haitian curlytail (possibly extinct, last seen in 1976) | Haiti | ||
† Leiocephalus eremitus (Cope , 1868) |
Navassa curlytail lizard (extinct, 19th century) | Navassa Island | ||
Leiocephalus greenwayi Barbour & Shreve, 1935 | East Plana curlytail, Plana Cay curlytail lizard | Bahama Islands | ||
† Leiocephalus herminieri (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron , 1837) |
Martinique curlytail lizard (extinct, 19th century) | Trinidad and Tobago | ||
Leiocephalus inaguae Cochran, 1931 | Inagua curlytail lizard | Bahamas | ||
Leiocephalus loxogrammus (Cope, 1887) | San Salvador curlytail, Rum Cay curlytail lizard |
|
Bahamas | |
Leiocephalus lunatus Cochran, 1934 | Hispaniolan maskless curlytail, Santo Domingo curlytail lizard |
|
Dominican Republic. | |
Leiocephalus macropus (Cope, 1863) | Cuban side-blotched curlytail, Monte Verde curlytail lizard |
|
Cuba. | |
Leiocephalus melanochlorus (Cope, 1863) | Tiburon curlytail, Jérémie curlytailed lizard |
|
Haiti. | |
Leiocephalus onaneyi Garrido, 1973 | Guantanamo striped curlytail, Guantanamo striped curly-tailed lizard, Sierra curlytail lizard | Cuba. | ||
Leiocephalus personatus (Cope, 1863) | Hispaniolan masked curlytail, Haitian curlytail lizard | Hispaniola. | ||
Leiocephalus pratensis (Cochran, 1928) | Haitian striped curlytail, Atalaye curlytail lizard (possibly extinct, last seen in 1966) |
|
Haiti. | |
Leiocephalus psammodromus Barbour, 1920 | Turks and Caicos curlytail, Bastion Cay curlytail lizard |
|
Turks and Caicos Islands | |
Leiocephalus punctatus Cochran, 1931 | Crooked Acklins curlytail, spotted curlytail lizard | Bahamas. | ||
Leiocephalus raviceps (Cope, 1863) | pallid curlytail, mountain curlytail lizard |
|
Cuba. | |
Leiocephalus rhutidira A. Schwartz, 1979 | Haitian black-throated curlytail, Lapierre curlytail lizard (possibly extinct, last seen in 1978) | Haiti. | ||
†Leiocephalus roquetus Bochaton, Charles, and Lenoble, 2021 | La Désirade curlytail lizard, curlytail roquet (extinct, late 19th century) | Guadeloupe. | ||
Leiocephalus schreibersii (Gravenhorst , 1838) |
red-sided curlytail, red-sided curly-tailed lizard |
|
Hispaniola | |
Leiocephalus semilineatus Dunn, 1920 | Hispaniolan pale-bellied curlytail, Thomazeau curlytail lizard, Pale-bellied Hispaniolan curlytail | Hispaniola. | ||
Leiocephalus sixtoi Kohler, Bobadilla, & Hedges, 2016 | Hispaniolan dune curlytail | Hispaniola. | ||
Leiocephalus stictigaster A. Schwartz, 1959 | Cuban striped curlytail, Cabo Corrientes curlytail lizard |
|
Cuba. | |
Leiocephalus varius Garman, 1887 | Cayman curlytail, Cayman curly-tailed lizard | Cayman Islands. | ||
Leiocephalus vinculum Cochran, 1928 | Gonave curlytail, Cochran's curlytail lizard | Haiti. |
Fossil and subfossil species
- †, but might have survived to recent times)
- †Leiocephalus etheridgei Pregill, 1981 – Morovis curlytail (extinct, Late Pleistocene of Puerto Rico)
- †Leiocephalus jamaicensis Etheridge, 1966 – Jamaican curlytail (extinct, Late Pleistocene or Holocene of Jamaica)
- †Leiocephalus partitus Pregill, 1981 – Guánica curlytail (extinct, Pleistocene or Holocene of Puerto Rico)
References
- ^ "Leiocepalus ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de.
- PMID 26475614.
- ^ S2CID 232337806.
- ^ )
- ^ a b Hedges, B. "All Islands". CaribHerp. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0395904527.
- ^ a b "Search results | The Reptile Database". reptile-database.reptarium.cz. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ doi:10.31611/ch.50.
- PMID 24843163.
- S2CID 86526680.
- ^ .
- .
- ^ a b "57. Central Haitian Curlytail". EDGE species. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ a b "73. Lapierre Curlytail Lizard". EDGE species. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- .
- ^ "75. Atalaye Curlytail Lizard". EDGE species. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- S2CID 9386834.
- ^ Leiocephalus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2 July 2019.
- . Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ Hedges, S. Blair (2021). "Isla Alto Velo". Caribherp: Amphibians and reptiles of Caribbean Islands. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
Further reading
- Gray JE (1827). "A Description of a new Genus and some new species of Saurian Reptiles; with a Revision of the Species of Chameleons". Philosoph. Mag. Ann. Chem. Math. Astron. Nat. Hist. Gen. Sci. 2 (9): 207–214. (Leiocephalus, new genus, p. 207).
- Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Leiocephalus species, L. barahonensis – L. viniculum, pp. 126–140).