Echinosaura

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis: Sarcopterygii
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata Episquamata

Subordo: Lacertoidea
Superfamilia: Gymnophthalmoidea

Familia: Gymnophthalmidae
Subfamilia: Cercosaurinae
Tribus: Cercosaurini
Genus: Echinosaura
Species (7): E. brachycephala – E. horrida – E. keyi – E. orcesi – E. palmeri – E. panamensis – E. sulcarostrum
Name

Echinosaura Boulenger, 1890: 82

Type species: Echinosaura horrida Boulenger, 1890, by monotypy.
Synonyms

Teuchocercus Fritts & Smith, 1969: 54 [synonymized by Torres-Carvajal et al. (2016: 74), by implication]

Type species: Teuchocercus keyi Fritts & Smith, 1969, by original designation and monotypy.
References
Primary references

Boulenger, G.A. 1890. First report on additions to the lizard collection in the British Museum (Natural History). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1890: 77–86. BHL
Fritts, T.H. & Smith, H.M. 1969. A new teiid lizard genus from Western Ecuador. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 72(1): 54–59. DOI: 10.2307/3627048 JSTOR Reference page.
Torres-Carvajal, O., Lobos, S.E., Venegas, P.J., Chávez, G., Aguirre-Peñafiel, V., Zurita, D. & Echevarría, L.Y. 2016. Phylogeny and biogeography of the most diverse clade of South American gymnophthalmid lizards (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae, Cercosaurinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 99: 63–75. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.03.006 Reference page.

Additional references

Fritts, T.H., Almendáriz, A. & Samec, S. 2002. A new species of Echinosaura (Gymnophthalmidae) from Ecuador and Colombia with comments on other members of the genus and Teuchocercus keyi. Journal of Herpetology 36(3): 349–355. DOI: 10.2307/1566177 JSTOR Reference page.
Köhler, G., Böhme, W. & Schmitz, A. 2004. A new species of Echinosaura (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from Ecuador. Journal of Herpetology 38(1): 52–60. DOI: 10.1670/164-02A JSTOR Reference page.
Donnelly, M.A., MacCulloch, R.D., Ugarte, C.A. & Kizirian, D. 2006. A New Riparian Gymnophthalmid (Squamata) from Guyana. Copeia 2006(3): 396–403. DOI: 10.1643/0045-8511(2006)2006[396:ANRGSF]2.0.CO;2 Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Echinosaura . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 26 June 2018.

Echinosaura is a genus of lizards, called commonly the spined tegus, in the family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is endemic to Central America and South America.

Geographic range and habitat

Species of Echinosaura occur in tropical rainforests of Panama and South America.
Description

Spined tegu lizards are normally brown in color and have spines on the head, torso, and tail.
Species

7 species are recognised:[1]

Echinosaura brachycephala G. Köhler, Böhme & Schmitz, 2004
Echinosaura centralis Dunn, 1944
Echinosaura horrida Boulenger, 1890 - rough teiid
Echinosaura keyi Fritts & H.M. Smith, 1969 - Key tegu
Echinosaura orcesi Fritts, Almendáriz & Samec, 2002
Echinosaura palmeri Boulenger, 1911 - Palmer's teiid
Echinosaura panamensis Barbour, 1924 - Panama teiid

Notes

"Echinosaura ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

Boulenger GA (1890). "First Report on Additions to the Lizard Collection in the British Museum (Natural History)". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1890: 77-86 + Plates VIII-XI. (Echinosaura, new genus, pp. 82–83; E. horrida, new species, p. 83 + Plate X, figures 1, 1a, 1b).