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Tropidurus spinulosus (COPE, 1862)

IUCN Red List - Tropidurus spinulosus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaTropiduridae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Spiny Lava Lizard 
SynonymMicrolophus spinulosus COPE 1862: 351
Leiocephalus (Craniopeltis) variegatus O’SHAUGHNESSY 1879: 301
Tropidurus (Microlophus) spinulosus — BOETTGER 1885: 216
Tropidurus spinulosus — BOULENGER 1885: 175
Plica stejnegeri BURT & BURT 1930
Tropidurus spinulosus — GALLARDO 1969: 74
Tropidurus spinulosus — FROST 1992: 51
Tropidurus spinulosus — CEI 1993
Tropidurus spinulosus — DIRKSEN & DE LA RIVA 1999
Tropidurus spinulosus — CACCIALI et al. 2016
Tropidurus spinulosus — CACCIALI & KÖHLER 2018
Tropidurus spinulosus — AVILA et al. 2021 
DistributionBolivia (Grand Chaco, Beni, Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, Tarija), Paraguay, N Argentina (Formaosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, La Rioja, Catamarca, Tucumán, Salta, Santa Fe, Entre Rios), Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul fide Costa & Bérnils 2018)

Type locality: “Paraguay”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 5956
Syntypes: BMNH 1946.8.30.27-28 [variegatus]
Holotype: USNM 73505 [Plica stejnegeri] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1224 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy after CEI 1993. Tropidurus spinulosus guarani has been elevated to species status.

Distribution: Not in Brazil fide COSTA & BERNILS 2015 despite the fact that there seems to be records from the border region between Bolivia and Brazil (Mato Grosso) (see map in Carvalho 2013: 51, Fig. 8).

Habitat: rocks

Diet: a large percentage of the diet of this species (30-50%) consists of ants (Lucas et al. 2023). 
EtymologyNamed after Latin spinula, diminutive of spina, thorn + Latin -osus, suffix denoting abundance. (COPE 1862, Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024) 
References
  • Alvarez B B. Cei J M. Scolaro J A. 1994. A new subspecies of Tropidurus spinulosus (Cope 1862) from the subtropical wet mesic Paraguayan region (Reptilia Squamata Tropiduridae). Tropical Zoology 7 (1): 161-179 - get paper here
  • AVILA, LUCIANO JAVIER; LORENA ELIZABETH MARTINEZ & MARIANA MORANDO 2013. Checklist of lizards and amphisbaenians of Argentina: an update. Zootaxa 3616 (3): 201–238 - get paper here
  • Avila, Luciano Javier; Martín Miguel Femenías, Cristian Hernán Fulvio Pérez, Mariana Morando 2021. Nuevas especies de Liolaemus para la herpetofauna de la provincia de La Rioja, Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetología 35 (S1): 223-228
  • Boettger, O. 1885. Liste von Reptilien und Batrachiern aus Paraguay. Zeitschr. Naturw. 58 (3): 213-248 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1894. List of reptiles and batachians collected by Dr. T. Bohls near Asuncion, Paraguay. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6) 13: 342-348 - get paper here
  • Cacciali, P., & Ferreira Riveros, M. 2025. Assessing Conservation Monitoring Funds: Comparison of Camera Trapping and Active Search to Survey Lizards in a Xerophytic Neotropical Forest in Paraguay. Tropical Conservation Science, 18, 19400829251363883 - get paper here
  • CACCIALI, PIER & GUNTHER KÖHLER 2018. Diversity of Tropidurus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in Paraguay—an integrative taxonomic approach based on morphological and molecular genetic evidence. Zootaxa 4375 (4): 511–536 - get paper here
  • Cacciali, Pier; Norman J. Scott, Aida Luz Aquino Ortíz, Lee A. Fitzgerald, and Paul Smith 2016. The Reptiles of Paraguay: Literature, Distribution, and an Annotated Taxonomic Checklist. SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MUSEUM OF SOUTHWESTERN BIOLOGY, NUMBER 11: 1–373 - get paper here
  • CARREIRA, S., M. MENEGHEL AND F. ACHAVAL 2005. Reptiles de Uruguay. DI.R.A.C., Facultad de Ciências Ed., Montevideo, 637 pp.
  • CARVALHO, ANDRÉ LUIZ GOMES DE 2013. On the distribution and conservation of the South American lizard genus Tropidurus Wied-Neuwied, 1825 (Squamata: Tropiduridae). Zootaxa 3640 (1): 042–056 - get paper here
  • Cavalcanti, Lucas B Q; Gabriel C Costa, Guarino R Colli, Eric R Pianka, Laurie J Vitt, Daniel O Mesquita 2023. Myrmecophagy in lizards: evolutionary and ecological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023;, zlad175, - get paper here
  • Cei, J. M. 1993. Reptiles del noroeste, nordeste y este de la Argentina. Museo Regionale Sci. Naturale Torino, Monografie 14: 1-949
  • Cei, J.M. 2003. SPECIFIC SUPRAOCULAR SCUTELLATION PATTERNS AS SIGNIFICANT DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS: A TAXONOMIC INTER- AND INTRAGENERIC "FINGER-PRINT" IN LACERTILIA. Facena 19: 129-135 - get paper here
  • Colli,G.R. et al. 1992. Niche partitioning and morphology of two syntopic Tropidurus (Sauria: Tropiduridae) in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology 26 (1): 66-69 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1862. Catalogues of the reptiles obtained during the explorations of the Parana Paraguay, Vermejo and Uruguay rivers, by Capt. Thos. J. Page, U.S.N.; and of those procured by Lieut. N. Michier, U. S. Top. Eng., Commander of the expedition conducting the survey of the Atrato River. I. The Paraguay collection. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 346-359. - get paper here
  • Costa, Henrique Caldeira; Renato Silveira Bérnils 2018. Répteis do Brasil e suas Unidades Federativas: Lista de espécies. Herpetologia Brasileira 7 (1): 11-57
  • Cruz, Félix B. 1998. Natural history of Tropidurus spinulosus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) from the dry Chaco of Salta, Argentina. The Herpetological Journal 8 (2): 107-110 - get paper here
  • Dirksen, L. & De la Riva, I. 1999. The lizards and amphisbaenians of Bolivia (Reptilia, Squamata): checklist, localities, and bibliography. Graellsia 55: 199-215 - get paper here
  • Dost, W. 2005. Stichpunktartige Bemerkungen zu Pflege und zucht diverser Iguaniden. Iguana Rundschreiben 18 (1): 16-24
  • Frost, Darrel R. 1992. Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of the Tropidurus group of lizards (Iguania: Tropidurudae). American Museum Novitates (3033): 1-68 - get paper here
  • Gallardo, José M. 1969. Las especies de saurios (Reptilia) de la Provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina, y consideraciones sobre su ecologia y zoogeografia. Neotropica 15 (47): 73-81
  • Gonzales, Lucindo; Arturo Muñoz y Edson Cortez 2006. PRIMER REPORTE SOBRE LA HERPETOFAUNA DE LA RESERVA NATURAL “EL CORBALÁN”, TARIJA, BOLIVIA [FIRST REPORT ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF “EL CORBALAN” NATURAL RESERVE, TARIJA, BOLIVIA]. Kempffiana 2 (1): 72-94 - get paper here
  • Harvey, M. B. & R. L. J. Gutberlet 1998. Lizards of the genus Tropidurus (Iguania: Tropiduridae) from the Serrania de Huanchaca, Bolivia: new species, natural history, and a key to the genus. Herpetologica 54 (4): 493-520. - get paper here
  • HARVEY, Michael B. & RONALD L. GUTBERLET JR 2000. A phylogenetic analysis of the tropidurine lizards (Squamata: Tropiduridae), including new characters of squamation and epidermal microstructure. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 128: 189–233. - get paper here
  • Kacoliris F.P.; Berkunsky I. & Williams J. 2006. Herpetofauna of Impenetrable, Argentinean Great Chaco. Phyllomedusa 5 (2): 149-158 - get paper here
  • Koslowsky,J. 1895. Batracios y reptiles de Rioja y Catamarca. Rev. Mus. La Plata 6: 359-370 - get paper here
  • Martori, R. & L. Aún 1994. Aspects of the ecology of a population of Tropidurus spinulosus Amphibia-Reptilia, 15(3): 317-326. - get paper here
  • Matos, Naiana Brito de; Milena Ferreira, Fernando de Jesus Silva, Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues, Elinaira Santos da Silva, and Caroline Garcia 2016. Taxonomy and Evolution of Tropidurus (Iguania, Tropiduridae) Based on Chromosomal and DNA Barcoding Analysis. Journal of Herpetology 50 (2): 316-326 - get paper here
  • O’Shaughnessy,A.W.E. 1879. Description of new species of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (5) 4: 295-303 - get paper here
  • PELEGRIN, N. & LEYNAUD, G. C. & BUCHER, E. H. 2006. Reptile fauna of the Chancaní Reserve (Arid Chaco, Argentina): species list and conservation status [Short Note]. Herpetozoa 19 (1/2): 85-86 - get paper here
  • Pelegrin, Nicolás 2019. Reproductive behavior of Tropidurus spinulosus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in captivity. Phyllomedusa 18 (1): 123-126 - get paper here
  • Peñaranda-Barrios, Efraín Miguel 2012. FAUNA SILVESTRE PLANTA DE GAS LA VERTIENTE -- GRAN CHACO TARIJEÑO, Provincia Gran Chaco - Tarija. BG Bolivia Corporation Suc. Bolivia, GeoAmbiente Ltda., Villa Montes-Bolivia. 353 p.
  • Pérez, D. R.; Acosta, J. C.;Avila, L. J. 1991. Caso de puesta comunal en Tropidurus spinulosus (Sauria: Iguanidae) en la provincia de Córdoba (República Argentina). Bol. Asoc. Herp. Argentina 6 (1): 11-12
  • Pérez-Iglesias, Juan Manuel; Jofré, Laura E.; Rueda, Marta Patricia 2017. Primeros registros de la herpetofauna en dos areas naturales protegidas de la provincia de Santiago del Estero (Argentina). Cuad. herpetol. 32 (1): 49-57 - get paper here
  • Rivas, L. R., Eversole, C. B., & Powell, R. L. 2023. Urban herpetofauna of Trinidad, Beni Department, Bolivia. Herpetology Notes, 16, 399-410 - get paper here
  • Rossi N, Chiaraviglio M, Cardozo G 2023. Behavioural plasticity in activity and sexual interactions in a social lizard at high environmental temperatures. PLoS ONE 18(7): e0285656 - get paper here
  • ROSSI, N.; M. CHIARAVIGLIO & G. CARDOZO. 2022. Relationships among Behavior, Chromatism, and Morphology in Male Aggressive Encounters in Tropidurus spinulosus. Ichthyology & Herpetology 110(2): 340–349. - get paper here
  • Scott, Norman J.;Lovett, Jonny Wayne 1975. A collection of reptiles and amphibians from the Chaco of Paraguay. The University of Connecticut Occasional Papers, Biological Series 2 (16): 257-266
 
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