| Saint Croix ground lizard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| on Protestant Island | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Teiidae |
| Genus: | Pholidoscelis |
| Species: | P. polops |
| Binomial name | |
| Pholidoscelis polops Cope, 1863 | |
| Synonyms | |
Ameiva polops | |
The Saint Croix ground lizard (Pholidoscelis polops) is a small lizard endemic to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Growing to a size of between 35 and 90 mm (excluding the tail), adults have a pattern of light brown, dark brown and white longitudinal stripes down their back. Below these are a series of narrow brown, black and white vertical stripes, which extend from the sides down to the stomach. The stomach is white with bright blue markings (males), and the rest of the underside is a deep pinkish-red hue. The tail changes from a brown color near the body with alternating rings of blue and black. The entire tail of juveniles and hatchlings is a bright blue color. It eats virtually any prey item, including berries, amphipods, moths, ants and small hermit crabs.
The lizard is mainly found in beach areas and upland forest. Once found on St. Croix, the population was extirpated, likely due to habitat loss and the introduction of the small Indian mongoose to the island in the 1880s. The lizard is found on four islands: Protestant Cay, Green Cay, Ruth Cay (a man-made island, constructed by dredging in the 1960s), and Buck Island.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the St. Croix ground lizard as endangered in 1977 (according to the Endangered Species Act of 1973), and Pholidoscelis polops is currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Efforts to save this species include two translocation projects to mongoose-free offshore islands around St. Croix. In 1990, ten lizards from the Protestant Cay population were placed onto Ruth Island. In 2008, fifty-seven lizards from the Green Cay population were placed onto Buck Island.
Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge, encompasses the 6 ha (14 acre) island of Green Cay lying midway between the town of Christiansted and Buck Island Reef National Monument, just north of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands of the Caribbean. It is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex. There is a smaller "Green Cay" off the coast of Saint Thomas.
Griswold's ameiva is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is endemic to Antigua and Barbuda, where it is found on both islands. It is also known as the Antiguan ameiva or the Antiguan ground lizard.
Ruth Island is an artificial island off the southern coast of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands near Port Alucroix. It was created in the mid-1960s from the dredging of Krauses Lagune and is about 40 acres (16 ha).
Cyclura rileyi, commonly known as the Bahamian rock iguana or the San Salvador rock iguana, is a critically endangered species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to three island groups in the Bahamas, and is in decline due to habitat encroachment by human development and predation by feral dogs and cats. There are three subspecies: the Acklins ground iguana, the White Cay iguana, and the nominotypical subspecies.
The common Puerto Rican ameiva or Puerto Rican ground lizard is a species of lizard in the whiptail family.
The Dominican ground lizard or Dominican ameiva is a species of lizard. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Dominica, an island noted for its intact and abundant reptile population, where it is most commonly found in dry coastal woodland.
The Sombrero ameiva is a lizard species in the genus Ameiva. It is endemic to Sombrero, a small, uninhabited island in the Lesser Antilles under the jurisdiction of Anguilla.
Censky's ameiva, also known as the Little Scrub Island ground lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is indigenous to the Caribbean.
Pholidoscelis plei, known commonly as the Anguilla Bank ameiva or the Caribbean ameiva, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is found on the Caribbean islands of Anguilla, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy in the Lesser Antilles. Its coloration and markings vary between each island population. Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.
The St. Christopher ameiva is a lizard species in the genus Pholidoscelis. It is found on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius, and on Saint Kitts and Nevis, where it is more scarce.
The Montserrat ameiva is a lizard species in the genus Pholidoscelis. It is found on the Caribbean island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles.
The small Indian mongoose is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands.
The Jamaican ameiva is a species of lizard found only in Jamaica.
Pholidoscelis wetmorei is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae (whiptails). The species is endemic to Puerto Rico. Its common names include the Puerto Rican blue-tailed ameiva, Wetmore's ameiva, and blue-tailed ground lizard.
The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats.
Pholidoscelis is a genus of lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae. All species are endemic to the West Indies.
Pholidoscelis taeniurus, the Hispaniolan blue-tailed ameiva or Haitian ameiva, is a member of the Teiidae family of lizards. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola, including some satellite islands, like Île-à-Vache, Gonâve Island, and Isla Saona.
Data related to Pholidoscelis polops at Wikispecies
