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Dracaena guianensis DAUDIN, 1801

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Higher TaxaTeiidae, Tupinambinae, Gymnophthalmoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Northern Caiman Lizard, Guyana Caiman Lizard
Portuguese: Cabeça-Encarnada, Jacarerana, Jacaruxi, Jacuruxi, Lagarto-Jacaré 
SynonymDracaena guianensis DAUDIN 1801: 421
Teius crocodilurus MERREM 1820: 62
? Thorictes Dracaena — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 56
Dracaena guianensis — BOULENGER 1885: 338
Dracaena guianensis — VANZOLINI & VALENCIA 1966: 15
Dracaena guianensis — PETERS et al. 1970: 111
Dracaena guianensis — MASSARY et al. 2000
Dracaenea guianensis — GRINHAM 2020 (in error) 
DistributionBrazil (Amazonas, Maranhao, Amapa, Acre)
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname ?, French Guiana

Type locality: “Cayenne” [French Guiana] (not “Amapa” fide MASSARY et al. 2000).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: RMNH 28888 (stuffed specimen) and MNHN-AC (comparative anatomy) 2002.0242 (head skull of the same stuffed specimen of Leiden) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Dracaena is the only genus of Teiidae with subterminal lenticular scale organs positioned atop the prominently keeled ventrals and a complete interangular sulcus containing small granular scales. The combination of two loreals, a laterally compressed tail, and heterogeneous dorsals consisting of large keeled scales surrounded by smaller scales immediately distinguishes Dracaena from all other Teiidae.


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CommentType species: Dracaena guianensis Daudin is the type species of the genus Dracaena Daudin 1801. Note that there is also a genus of trees of the same name.

Distribution: Apparently not present in NE-Brazil. Probably also in Bolivia (fide LANGSTROTH 2005). Reports from French Guiana may be erroneous (HOOGMOED & LESCURE 1975). Not in Guyana fide Cole et al. 2013: 471.

Synonymy mostly after Peters et al. 1970. DAUDIN apparently described the same specimen that has been mentioned by LACÉPÈDE (1788) as Lacerta Dracoena (fide PETERS & DONOSO-BARROS 1970).

Comparisons: Presch 1974: 24 compares character states across the genera Ameiva, Cnemidophorus, Kentropyx, Dicrodon, Teius, Callopistes, Tupinambis, Crocodilurus, and Dracaena. 
EtymologyNamed after its origin in French Guiana.

The genus name Dracaena is the Latin noun Dracaena meaning dragon or, less commonly, lizard. As discussed recently by Massary et al. (2000), Daudin (1801) based his description on the figure titled “La dragonne” and description of Lacerta dracæna by La Cepède (1788). Lacerta Dracaena also appears in Gmelin’s (1789) list along with a brief Latin description. Gmelin’s name would appear to be an available senior synonym of D. guianensis, albeit one that should be suppressed since it has not been used since the late 1700s. 
References
  • Akeret, Beat 2011. Paludarien und Aquaterrarien – eine kurze Einführung in die Thematik. Draco 12 (46): 4-21 - get paper here
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  • Avila-Pires, T.C.S. 1995. Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zoologische Verhandelingen 299: 1-706 - get paper here
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