Gymnophthalmus underwoodi
Underwood's spectacled tegu
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Gymnophthalmidae
Genus: Gymnophthalmus
Species:
G. underwoodi
Binomial name
Gymnophthalmus underwoodi
Grant, 1958

Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, called commonly Underwood's spectacled tegu, is a species of microteiid lizard, which is found in South America and on certain Caribbean islands.

Etymology

G. underwoodi is named after British herpetologist Garth Leon Underwood.[2]

Reproduction

G. underwoodi is a unisexual species, reproducing through parthenogenesis. Captive specimens have been recorded laying up to eleven eggs within four months, with between one and four eggs per clutch.

Geographic range

The geographic distribution of G. underwoodi includes the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Antigua, Barbuda, Trinidad, and Tobago in the Lesser Antilles; and Guyana, Suriname, Colombia, and Venezuela in South America. It is also present on Dominica, which has been confirmed by both Breuil (2002) and Turk et al. (2010). Recent incursions on Saba and Sint Eustatius have led to a widely occurring non-native populations on both islands.[3][4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. underwoodi is grassland.[1]

Sources

  • Breuil M (2002). Histoire naturelle des amphibiens et reptiles terrestres de l'Archipel Guadeloupéen. Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélem. Vol. 54. Paris: Patrimoines Naturels. pp. 1–339.
  • Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. London: Macmillan Education Ltd. pp. 34, 70, 83–84, 97, 101, 104. ISBN 0-333-69141-5.

References

  1. 1 2 Ouboter, P.; Doan, T.; Dewynter, M.; Thomas, R.; Powell, R. (2016). "Gymnophthalmus underwoodi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T178225A66749306. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T178225A66749306.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑ 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. (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, p. 270).
  3. ↑ van den Burg, Matthijs P.; Hylkema, Alwin; Debrot, Adolphe O. (21 September 2021). "Establishment of two nonnative parthenogenetic reptiles on Saba, Dutch Caribbean: Gymnophthalmus underwoodi and Indotyphlops braminus". Caribbean Herpetology: 1–5. doi:10.31611/ch.79. eISSN 2333-2468.
  4. ↑ Thibaudier, Julian; van den Burg, Matthijs P.; Mitchell, Adam; Cornwell, Tomas (2023-01-31). "Establishment of the Smooth-scaled Tegulet (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi) and the Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) on St. Eustatius". Caribbean Herpetology: 1–6. doi:10.31611/ch.86. ISSN 2333-2468.

Further reading

  • Grant C (1958). "A New Gymnophthalmus (Reptilia, Teiidae) from Barbados, B.W.I." Herpetologica 14 (4): 227–228. (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, new species).
  • Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. ISBN 978-0813010496. (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, p. 411).
  • 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. (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, pp. 123–124).
  • Turk PA, Wyszynski NN, Powell R, Henderson RW (2010). "Population densities and water-loss rates of Gymnophthalmus pleii, Gymnophthalmus underwoodi (Gymnophthalmidae), and Sphaerodactylus fantasticus fuga (Sphaerodactylidae) on Dominica, West Indies". Salamandra 46 (3): 125–130.
  • Williamson KE, Powell R (2004). "Gymnophthalmus underwoodii ". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (793): 1–5.


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