Mesoamericus

Mesoamericus
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Anguimorpha
Family:	Diploglossidae
Genus:	Mesoamericus ; Schools & Hedges, 2021
Species:	M. bilobatus
Binomial name
	Mesoamericus bilobatus; (O'Shaughnessy, 1874)
Synonyms
	Celestus bilobatus; O'Shaughnessy, 1874; Diploglossus bilobatus; — Bocourt, 1874; Mesoamericus bilobatus; — Schools & Hedges, 2021;

Last updated October 04, 2025

Mesoamericus bilobatus, also known commonly as O'Shaughnessy's galliwasp, is a species of lizard in the family Diploglossidae.^[2] The species is native to Central America.

Taxonomy

A 2021 study found M. bilobatus to not belong to the genus Diploglossus (which is otherwise only found in South America and the Caribbean), but rather to belong to the monotypic genus Mesoamericus in the subfamily Siderolamprinae.^[2]^[3]

Geographic range

M. bilobatus is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. bilobatus is forest, at altitudes of 2–1,360 m (6.6–4,461.9 ft).^[1]

Description

M. bilobatus has sheathed claws,^[2] which Boulenger (1885) described as "claws nearly entirely concealed in a large compressed sheath formed of a larger supero-lateral and a smaller inferior scale".

Behavior

M. bilobatus is diurnal, terrestrial, and semifossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

M. bilobatus is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 3 Vargas Álvarez, J.; García Rodríguez, A.; Batista, A.; Acosta Chaves, V. (2013). "Diploglossus bilobatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T203040A2759002. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Mesoamericus bilobatus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 5 April 2022.
↑ Schools, Molly; Hedges, S. Blair (2021-05-20). "Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the Neotropical forest lizards (Squamata, Diploglossidae)" . Zootaxa. 4974 (2): 201–257. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4974.2.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 34186858. S2CID 235687219.

Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ, Xenosauridæ, Zonuridæ, Anguidæ, Anniellidæ, Helodermatidæ, Varanidæ, Xantusiidæ, Teiidæ, Amphisbænidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I–XXIV. (Diploglossus bilobatus, pp. 286–287).
Lotzkat, Sebastian; Stadler, Leonhard; Carrizo, Arcadio; Hertz, Andreas; Köhler, Gunther (2010). "Notes on the easternmost population of Diploglossus bilobatus (Squamata: Anguidae) in Veraguas, Panama". Salamandra46 (1): 59–62.
O'Shaughnessy AWE (1874). "Description of a new Species of Lizard of the Genus Celestus ". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Fourth Series14: 257–258. (Celestus bilobatus, new species).
Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xx + 945 pp. ISBN 0-226-73537-0.

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[iucn_status_11_November_2021-1] 1 2 3 Vargas Álvarez, J.; García Rodríguez, A.; Batista, A.; Acosta Chaves, V. (2013). "Diploglossus bilobatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013 e.T203040A2759002. Retrieved 16 December 2021.

[RDB-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mesoamericus bilobatus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 5 April 2022.

[3] Schools, Molly; Hedges, S. Blair (2021-05-20). "Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the Neotropical forest lizards (Squamata, Diploglossidae)" . Zootaxa. 4974 (2): 201–257. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4974.2.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 34186858. S2CID 235687219.

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