Polychrus marmoratus

Polychrus marmoratus
Polychrus marmoratus in Guyana
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Polychrotidae
Genus:	Polychrus
Species:	P. marmoratus
Binomial name
Polychrus marmoratus Linnaeus, 1758

Polychrus marmoratus or many-colored bush anole ^[2] is a species of bush anole. It is also commonly referred to as the monkey lizard due to its slow movement. ^[3] The lizard has many predators, including spiders and primates. ^[4]

Description

Polychrus marmoratus weighs 101.19 grams. ^[5] The lizard is 30 to 50 centimeters long. It has a blunt snout with large and smooth scales on the dorsal surface of the head. ^[6] The scales on the flank and skin are smaller. The lizard is commonly brown or olive-grey. Blue or black spots may be present on the head. The neck is bluish, while the ventral region is whitish. Five or six "V-shaped bands" are present on the back.

The lizard hunts insects and spiders using an ambush method. ^{[7] [8]} It will also feed on flowers and seeds. ^[9] The lizard inhabits semi-deciduous forests.

Distribution

The species is present in Guyana, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador. ^[10] The species has also been sighted in Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Florida.

References

1. Caicedo, J., Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P., Rivas, G., Perez, P., Avila-Pires, T.C.S., Aparicio, J., Moravec, J. & Murphy, J. (2019). "Polychrus marmoratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
2. "ITIS Standard Report Page: Polychrus marmoratus". Interagency Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Retrieved 2019-04-20.
3. "Polychrus marmoratus". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
4. Koski DA, Koski AP (2017). "Polychrus marmoratus (Common Monkey Lizard): Predation". Herpetological Review. 48 (1): 200.
5. "Polychrus marmoratus (Linnaeus 1758)". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
6. Avila-Pires TC (1995). "Lizards of brazilian amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata)". Zoologische Verhandelingen. 299 (1): 1–706.
7. Hosein I (2015). "Polychrus marmoratus (Multi-coloured Tree Lizard)" (PDF). uwi.edu.
8. "Common Bush-Anole (Polychrus marmoratus)".
9. "Common Bush-Anole (Polychrus marmoratus)".
10. Torres-Carvajal O, Koch C, Venegas PJ, Poe S (2017-06-01). "Phylogeny and diversity of neotropical monkey lizards (Iguanidae: Polychrus Cuvier, 1817)". PLOS ONE. 12 (6): e0178139. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1278139T. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178139 . PMC   5453479 . PMID   28570575.