Gymnophthalmus underwoodi, known commonly as Underwood's spectacled tegu,[2] is a species of microteiid lizard. It is found in South America and in the Caribbean.
| Gymnophthalmus underwoodi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Underwood's spectacled tegu | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gymnophthalmidae |
| Genus: | Gymnophthalmus |
| Species: | G. underwoodi |
| Binomial name | |
| Gymnophthalmus underwoodi Grant, 1958 | |
Etymology
editThe first description of Gymnophthalmus underwoodi was published by Chapman Grant in 1958. The holotype was collected by Grant in January 1957, with the type locality being Barbados. The specific name, underwoodi is named after British herpetologist Garth Underwood "in recognition of his work on West Indian herpetiles."*[3] Underwood had collected a series of 13 specimens from Barbados in 1958, classified by the Museum of Comparative Zoology that was housing them as Gymnophthalmus lineatus, which Grant used to investigate the possibility that the specimen he had collected in 1957 was a member of an undescribed species; Underwood's specimens ended up being designated as paratypes by Grant.[2] [3]
Description
editG. 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.[4]
Distribution and habitat
editIn the Caribbean, G. underwoodi is known to be found in the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin (both the Dutch part and the French part), Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands (on Saint Thomas), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada,[1] Sint Eustatius[5] and Saba.[4] In South America, G.underwoodi is known to be found in Guyana, Suriname, Colombia, and Venezuela, and potentially also in Brazil and French Guiana.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 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.
- 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (15 September 2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 533. ISBN 9781421402277 – via ProQuest Ebook Central.
- 1 2 Grant, Chapman (1 December 1958). "A New Gymnophthalmus (Reptilia, Teidae) from Barbados, B.W.I.". Herpetologica. 14 (4). Herpetologists' League: 227–228. JSTOR 3890495 – via JSTOR.
- 1 2 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.
- ↑ 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
edit- Schwartz, A., Henderson, R.W. (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, P.A., Wyszynski, N.N., Powell, R., Henderson, R.W. (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, K.E., Powell, R. (2004). "Gymnophthalmus underwoodii". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (793): 1–5.
- Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R.S. (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. pp. 34, 70, 83–84, 97, 101, 104. Macmillan Education Ltd. London. ISBN 0-333-69141-5 134 pp.
External links
edit- Gymnophthalmus underwoodi at the Encyclopedia of Life.
- Gymnophthalmus underwoodi at the Reptile Database.