Holcosus festivus
Species of lizard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holcosus festivus, commonly known as the Central American whiptail, the Middle American ameiva, and the tiger ameiva, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to Central America and northern South America.[2]
| Holcosus festivus | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Teiidae |
| Genus: | Holcosus |
| Species: | H. festivus |
| Binomial name | |
| Holcosus festivus (Lichtenstein, 1856) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Geographic range
Description
H. festivus is brown-colored, with darker browns making a zig-zag pattern down the back. A similar species is Holcosus quadrilineatus. Juveniles have metallic-blue tails.[3]
Habitat
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]
- H. f. festivus (Lichtenstein, 1856) – northern Colombia and Panama
- H. f. edwardsii Bocourt, 1873 – Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, and Nicaragua
- H. f. occidentalis Taylor, 1956 – Costa Rica
Nota bene: A taxon author (binomial authority or trinomial authority) in parentheses indicates that the taxon (species or subspecies) was originally described in a different genus (in this case, a genus other than Holcosus).
Etymology
The subspecific name, edwardsii, is in honor of French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards.[4]
