Polychrus

Polychrus
Polychrus acutirostris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Polychrotidae
Genus: Polychrus
Cuvier, 1817
Type species
Draco marmoratus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Polychrus is the only extant genus of polychrotid lizards in the world. Commonly called bush anoles, they are found in Central and South America, as well as nearby Trinidad and Tobago.

Polychrus means "many colored". True anoles in other genera are now placed in Dactyloidae. Polychrus is presently in the family Polychrotidae.

Species

Polychrus gutturosus seen in Tapir Valley, Tenorio Volcano National Park, Costa Rica.

Fossil history

Though species of Polychrus have an almost exclusively South American distribution today, a stem representative, Sauropithecoides charisticus, was reported from the late Eocene of North Dakota, USA.

References

  1. ↑ Schlüter 2013: Cuvier 1817, Règne Animal 2: 40. Species typica: Lacerta marmorata Linnaeus.
  2. 1 2 "ITIS Report: Polychrus – Cuvier, 1817". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  3. ↑ "ITIS search results". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  4. ↑ Polychrus, Reptile Database
  5. ↑ Smith, K.T. (2011) The evolution of mid-latitude faunas during the Eocene: Late Eocene lizards of the Medicine Pole Hills reconsidered. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 52: 3-105. https://doi.org/10.3374/014.052.0101
  6. ↑ Smith, K.T. (2006) A diverse new assemblage of late Eocene squamates (Reptilia) from the Chadron Formation, North Dakota, U.S.A. Palaeontologia Electronica 9.2.5A.

Further reading