Pholidoscelis maynardi

Pholidoscelis maynardi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertoidea
Family:	Teiidae
Genus:	Pholidoscelis
Species:	P. maynardi
Binomial name
Pholidoscelis maynardi (Garman, 1888)
Synonyms [2]
Ameiva maynardii Garman, 1888 Pholidoscelis maynardi — Goicoechea et al., 2016

Pholidoscelis maynardi, commonly known as the Great Inagua ameiva, the Inagua ameiva, and the Inagua blue-tailed lizard, is species of lizard, a member of the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to the Bahamas. Three subspecies have been described. ^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, maynardi, is in honor of American ornithologist Charles Johnson Maynard. ^[3]

Description

Males of Pholidoscelis maynardi measure an average of 72 mm (2.83 in) snout-to-vent length (SVL), and females average 70 mm (2.76 in) SVL.^{[ citation needed ]}

Diet

Pholidoscelis maynardi is mainly insectivorous, ^[1] however, little is known of its natural history.

Habitat

Pholidoscelis maynardi is often encountered in the upper beach zone. It prefers sandy and loamy areas, but is also found in rocky and sparse vegetative areas. ^[1]

Reproduction

Pholidoscelis maynardi is oviparous. ^[2]

Subspecies and geographic distribution

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. ^[2] The species is found only in Inagua, Bahamas.

• Pholidoscelis maynardi maynardi Garman, 1888 – northern and western coasts of Great Inagua Island
• Pholidoscelis maynardi parvinaguae Barbour & Shreve, 1936 ^[4] – Little Inagua
• Pholidoscelis maynardi uniformis Noble & Klingel, 1932 ^[5] – eastern and southern portions of Great Inagua Island

References

1. Buckner S, Powell R, Hedges B (2017). "Pholidoscelis maynardi (amended version of 2016 assessmant)". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T178579A121642475.en. Accessed on 27 July 2025.
2. Species Pholidoscelis maynardi at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ameiva maynardi, p. 172).
4. Barbour T, Shreve B (1936). "New races of Tropidophis and of Ameiva from the Bahamas". Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club40: 347-365. (Ameiva maynardi parvinauguae, new subspecies).
5. Noble GK, Klingel GC (1932). "The Reptiles of Great Inagua Island, British West Indies". American Museum Novitates (549): 1-25. (Ameiva maynardii uniformis, new subspecies, pp. 23-24).

Further reading

• Campbell, David G. (1981). The Ephemeral Islands: A Natural History of the Bahamas. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Education. 160 pp. ISBN   978-0333226759.
• Garman S (1888). "Reptiles and Batrachians from the Caymans and from the Bahamas. Collected by Prof. C. J. Maynard for the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass." Bulletin of the Essex Institute20: 101–113. (Ameiva maynardii, new species, pp. 110–111).
• Goicoehea N, Frost DR, De la Riva I, Pellegrino KCM, Sites J Jr, Rodrigues MT, Padial JM (2016). "Molecular systematics of teioid lizards (Teioidea/Gymnophthalmoidea: Squamata) based on the analysis of 48 loci under tree-alignment and similarity-alignment". Cladistics32: 624–671. (Philodoscelis maynardi, new combination).
• Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 714 pp. ISBN   978-0813010496.
• 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. (Ameiva maynardi, pp. 60–61).