Mesoamericus

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Mesoamericus
Diploglossus bilobatus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Anguimorpha
Family: Diploglossidae
Genus: Mesoamericus
Schools & Hedges, 2021
Species:
M. bilobatus
Binomial name
Mesoamericus bilobatus
Synonyms [2]
  • Celestus bilobatus
    O'Shaughnessy, 1874
  • Diploglossus bilobatus
    Bocourt, 1874
  • Mesoamericus bilobatus
    — Schools & Hedges, 2021

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.

Contents

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. 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.
  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.

Further reading