| Holaspis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holaspis laevis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Lacertidae |
| Subfamily: | Lacertinae |
| Genus: | Holaspis Gray, 1863 |
| Species | |
See text. | |
Holaspis is a genus of equatorial African lizards in the family Lacertidae. These lizards are capable of gliding flight for distances of 30 meters (98 feet).
The Neo-Latin word "Holaspis " is derived from the Greek words " aspis ", ἀσπίς (= a buckler, or round shield) and " holos ", ὅλος, ὅλως (= whole, all, complete). It refers to the head scalation with frontoparietal and occipital scales all fused.
In morphology-based parsimony and compatibility analyses Arnold (1989) recognized a clade called the "Equatorial African group" including Adolfus , Gastropholis , and Holaspis. In all lacertids of this clade the parietal foramen is consistently absent, the parietal scale extends to the edge of the parietal table, and the postnasal scale is single. In Holaspis the head and body are very depressed, frontoparietal and occipital scales are all fused to shields, the tail is depressed with lateral fringes of scales, and the third and fourth toes of the forefoot are fused for nearly their entire joint. There are two longitudinal rows of smooth broad band-like scales down the vertebral line of the back and on the tail. The ventral scales are smooth. The collar is composed of 9 to 15 small scales. 16 to 24 femoral pores are present, more developed in males. Maximum total length (including tail) in both species is 129 mm (5.1 in), and maximum snout-vent-length (SVL) is 53 mm (2.1 in). There is no sexual dimorphism in SVL, but males have larger heads and their tail base is wider. [1] [2] [3]
Dorsally the ground colour is black. On the head from the tip of the snout to the nape of the neck there is a yellow to yellow greenish median line. On each side of the back outside the large dorsal scales there runs a turquoise to sky blue longitudinal stripe which fuses on the tail base. From there it travels as a clear blue stripe partly interrupted onto the tip of the tail. The pattern of the flanks differs in the two species: In H. guentheri there are two yellowish brown to greyish lines on the flanks while in H. laevis there runs only one broader yellowish brown to red brown or usually beige stripe from the tip of the snout to the hind limb. The wide tail scales on the sides are yellow to orange-coloured. [2]
The number of light or dark stripes is the only known external morphological difference between the two species. As Arnold (1989) wrote: H. guentheri: "A dark vertebral stripe on body and three dark stripes on each side". H. laevis: "A dark vertebral stripe and two dark stripes on each side".
Ventrally the lizards are coloured yellow or orange to greenish-orange, partly with a mother-of-pearl shimmer. Males are often more brightly coloured. Juveniles resemble their parents but the coloured dorsal stripes are narrower and less intensely coloured. Ventrally the juveniles are pitch-black in contrast to the adults. [2]
Holaspis are diurnal, arboreal, extremely agil lacertids and able to move on vertical and overhanging surfaces with body and tail pressed closely to the surface. They live on larger trees at least 15 m (49 ft) above the forest floor in primary forest, man-influenzed areas and even in Eucalyptus forest with smooth bark but are not found in closed forest. The serrated tail is considered as an additional tree climbing adaption to increase grip. [4] [5] [2] [3] [6]
They are active hunters of small insects and other arthropods like ants, grasshoppers and spiders, often investigating crevices in which they also frequently hide. [4] [2]
Not much is known about the reproduction in nature. More than one clutch/year is produced. Females lay two eggs under loose bark or in leaf litter. Specimen from northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo laid eggs in June and females from Nyasaland caught on 3 August held two well developed eggs. [5] [6] [7]
The species of Holaspis are unique among lacertids in being capable of gliding flight between trees up to 30 m distance. Adaptions for gliding are the flat body and tail, the fused fingers and their low body mass. Their bones are packed full of air spaces, making the lizard's skeleton feather light for gliding. [5] [2] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
They are less specialized for flight than species of the agamid genus Draco or gekkonid genus Ptychozoon .
Holaspis species are occasionally kept as pets. But Holaspis guentheri and H. laevis are often confused in pet trade or generally named H. guentheri because H. laevis was formerly only a subspecies of H. guentheri. Nearly all Holaspis in the pet trade are H. laevis. For discrimination of the two species see "Description". Captive breeding resulted in an increase of information on the biology of Holaspis. [2] [3] [13] [14]
Two species are recognized as being valid. Formerly H. laevis was a subspecies of H. guentheri. [3] [15]
The Lacertidae are the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Afro-Eurasia. It is a diverse family with at about 360 species in 39 genera. They represent the dominant group of reptiles found in Europe.
Acanthodactylus is a genus of lacertid lizards, commonly referred to as fringe-fingered lizards, fringe-toed lizards, and spiny-toed lizards.
Adolfus is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. The genus is endemic to subsaharan Africa.
Gastropholis is a genus of Equatorial African lacertid lizards of the family Lacertidae which is distributed in southern Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana, western Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern Kenya, Tanzania and south to northeastern Mozambique.
Latastia is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in Africa but one subspecies lives in Yemen. Collectively, they are known as long-tailed lizards.
Nucras is a genus of African lacertid lizards, commonly called sandveld lizards.
Poromera is a genus of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The genus Poromera is monotypic, containing the single species, Poromera fordii, commonly known as the West African striped lizard. The species is endemic to western Central Africa.
Pseuderemias is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. Common names for the genus are false sand lizards or racerunners.
Takydromus sexlineatus, the Asian grass lizard, six-striped long-tailed grass lizard, or long-tailed grass lizard, is an arboreal, diurnal species of lizard. The tail length is usually over three times the body length in this species.
The Iberian rock lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are mountain forests, shrubland, rivers and rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Phoenicolacerta kulzeri is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Western Asia.
The Ibiza wall lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is most closely associated with the island of Eivissa, or Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands, but has become naturalized in parts of Spain.
Meroles squamulosa is a species of African lizard originally placed in the genus Ichnotropis, however phylogenetic evidence moves this species to the genus Meroles. The species is commonly called the common rough-scaled lizard or savanna lizard. It is largely found in southern Africa. These lizards are terrestrial and found in the range of mesic savannah. The common rough-scaled lizard is medium in size and well distributed in parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Ichnotropis microlepidota is a species of African lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is commonly called Marx's rough-scaled lizard and is largely found in Angola, Africa. I. microlepidota is a terrestrial lizard and was first discovered at the foot of Mount Moco.
Congolacerta is a genus of equatorial African lacertids of the family Lacertidae. Species of this genus are distributed in western East Africa.
Oardasaurus is an extinct genus of lizard from the latest Cretaceous of Romania. It is a member of the Barbatteiidae, a group of lizards closely related to the Teiidae. At 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length, it was much smaller than the only other named member of the Barbatteiidae, Barbatteius, which lived slightly later. Like Barbatteius, Oardasaurus can be identified by the presence of a crust of bone deposits, or osteoderms, on the roof of its skull; it differs from Barbatteius in the pattern of the sculpturing on this crust. Both Oardasaurus and Barbatteius lived in the isolated island ecosystem of Hațeg Island, having rapidly diversified into various generalist predators of small prey after their arrival on the island during the Early Cretaceous. They went extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
Eremias persica, the Aralo-Caspian racerunner or Persian racerunner, is a species of lizard native to Iranian Azerbaijan, most of Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and western Pakistan. Eremias intermedia is also known as the Aralo-Caspian racerunner.
Holaspis guentheri, also commonly known as the neon blue-tailed tree lizard, the sawtail lizard, and the western neon blue-tailed tree lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to portions of West Africa and Central Africa.
Holaspis laevis, commonly known as the eastern serrate-toed tree lizard or eastern neon blue-tailed tree lizard is a species of lizard occurring in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. H. laevis was formerly only a subspecies of H. guentheri.
Nucras boulengeri, also known commonly as the Uganda savannah lizard and Boulenger's scrub lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to East Africa.