Biology:Weapontail

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Short description: Genus of lizards

Weapontail
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Hoplocercidae
Genus: Hoplocercus
Fitzinger, 1843
Species:
H. spinosus
Binomial name
Hoplocercus spinosus
(Fitzinger, 1843)[1]

The weapontail or Brazilian spiny-tailed lizard (Hoplocercus spinosus) is a lizard belonging to the monotypic genus Hoplocercus.[1] It is found in the Cerrado and adjacent Cerrado–Amazon mosaics in Brazil and Bolivia.[1] It is quite distantly related to the other members of Hoplocercidae, as it is believed to have diverged from these about 35 million years ago.[1]

The weapontail has a total length of about 12–15 cm (4.5–6 in).[2] As suggested by its name, it has a short, highly spiny tail (it is superficially similar to Uromastyx and the smaller species in Ctenosaura); when disturbed, it retreats to its burrow with the tail orientated towards the entrance.[1] It is nocturnal, and feeds on arthropods.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Torres-Carvajal, Etheridge & de Queiroz (2011). A systematic revision of Neotropical lizards in the clade Hoplocercinae (Squamata: Iguania). Zootaxa 2752: 1–44
  2. AnimalItaly: Lucertola dalla coda spinosa del Brasile, Hoplocercus spinosus. Retrieved 16 March 2018.

Further reading

  • Avila-Pires,T.C.S. (1995). Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zool. Verh., Leiden 299: 1-706
  • Boulenger, G.A. (1885). Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp.
  • Dirksen, L. & De la Riva, I. 1999. The lizards and amphisbaenians of Bolivia (Reptilia, Squamata): checklist, localities, and bibliography. Graellsia 55: 199-215
  • Estes, Richard & Pregill, Gregory, eds. 1988. Phylogenetic relationships of the Lizard Families: Esaays Commemorating Charles L. Camp. Stanford University Press, xvi + 632 pp.
  • Fitzinger, L. (1843). Systema Reptilium, fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel, Wien: 106 pp.
  • Harvey, M. B. (1995). A preliminary list of the reptiles and amphibians of the El Refugio biological reserve. In: Forsyth, A. (ed.), A report on aspects of biodiversity and conservation potential in El Refugio.

Wikidata ☰ Q2348206 entry