Oplurus cyclurus

Oplurus cyclurus
In Reserve Reniala, Madagascar
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Opluridae
Genus:	Oplurus
Species:	O. cyclurus
Binomial name
Oplurus cyclurus (Merrem, 1820)
Synonyms [2]
Uromastyx cyclurus Merrem, 1820 Oplurus maximiliani A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837 Doryphorus maximiliani — Fitzinger, 1843 Tropidurus cyclurus — Gray, 1845 Hoplurus cyclurus — W. Peters, 1882 Oplurus cyclurus — Savage, 1952

Oplurus cyclurus, also known commonly as the Madagascar swift and Merrem's Madagascar swift, is a species of lizard in the family Opluridae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. ^[3] It is arboreal and mostly insectivorous. Its breeding is timed with the rainy season.

Description

Oplurus cyclurus is similar in appearance to Oplurus cuvieri ; the two species may be easily confused.

Oplurus cyclurus is slightly smaller than Oplurus cuvieri . Both species have a distinctive large spiny tail, and neither has a dorsal crest. Oplurus cyclurus has a dark brown or black band around the neck and similar paler markings on its back.

Behavior, habitat, and geographic range

O. cyclurus is mostly arboreal, living in the spiny forests of southern and southwestern Madagascar. ^[1]

Reproduction

O. cyclurus is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Vences, M. (2011). "Oplurus cyclurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2011 e.T172831A6926304. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172831A6926304.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Species Oplurus cyclurus at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
3. Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (December 2018). A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (3rd ed.). Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlags. ISBN   978-3-929449-03-7.

Further reading

• Merrem B (1820). Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien: Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum. Marburg: J.C. Krieger. xv + 191 pp. + one plate. (Uromastyx cyclurus, new species, p. 56). (in German and Latin).
• Savage JM (1952). "The Correct Generic Names for the Iguanid Lizards of Madagascar and the Fiji Islands". Copeia1952 (3): 182. (Oplurus cyclurus, new combination).
• Schlüter, Uwe (2013). Madagaskarleguane: Lebensweise, Pflege und Fortpflanzung [= Madagascar Iguanas: Habits, Care and Reproduction]. Rheinstetten: Kirschner & Seufer Verlag. 88 pp. ISBN   978-39808264-8-8. (in German).