Abronia (lizard)

Abronia (lizard)
Abronia is a genus of lizards in the family Anguidae that is native to Mexico and Central America. The majority of the species are restricted to southern Mexico and Guatemala, but members of the genus occur as far south as Panama. They inhabit forests and woodlands, mostly in highlands, and some species are often associated with bromeliads. They are typically arboreal, but there are also terrestrial Abronia species. Many species are considered threatened due to habitat loss, killing by locals who mistakenly believe they are venomous, or collection for the captive reptile trade (they are listed on CITES, which restricts international trade). They feed on small animal prey, such as insects, and the females give birth to live young (rather than lay eggs).
These medium-sized to fairly large lizards (maximum length generally up to about ) possess intriguing physical traits such as long prehensile tails that can be regrown if lost, keeled body scales, and a helmet-like structure on the top of the head, which in some species, for example A. lythrochila, has spikes towards the rear. Their colors also vary significantly depending on species, including green, bluish-green, brown, yellowish, whitish, gray and black, and some have contrasting mottled or banded patterns.
Species
These species are recognized as being valid:
Abronia antauges – Mount Orizaba alligator lizard
Abronia anzuetoi – Anzueto's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia aurita – Cope's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia bogerti – Bogert's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia campbelli – Campbell's alligator lizard
Abronia chiszari – Chiszar's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia cuchumatanus – Cuchumatanes alligator lizard
Abronia cuetzpali
Abronia deppii – Deppe's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia fimbriata
Abronia frosti – Frost's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia fuscolabialis – Mount Zempoaltepec arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia gadovii – Gadow's alligator lizard
Abronia gaiophantasma – brilliant arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia graminea – Mexican alligator lizard
Abronia juarezi – Sierra Juarez alligator lizard
Abronia leurolepis – smoothback arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia lythrochila – red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia martindelcampoi – Martín del Campo's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia matudai – Matuda's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia meledona
Abronia mitchelli – Mitchell's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia mixteca – Mixtecan arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia montecristoi — Monte Cristo arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia monticola
Abronia moreletii – Morelet's alligator lizard
Abronia morenica – Sierra Morena arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia oaxacae – Oaxacan arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia ochoterenai – Ochoterena's arboreal alligator lizard, Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard,
Abronia ornelasi – Ornelas's arboreal alligator lizard, Cerro Baul alligator lizard
Abronia ramirezi – Ramirez's alligator lizard
Abronia reidi – Reid's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia salvadorensis — Salvador arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia smithi — Smith's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia taeniata – banded arboreal alligator lizard, bromeliad arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia vasconcelosii — Bocourt's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia viridiflava — dwarf alligator lizard
Abronia zongolica
References
External links
Abronia
Lizard genera
Lizards of Central America
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Reptiles described in 1838