Uracentron azureum (LINNAEUS, 1758)
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Uracentron azureum
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| Higher Taxa | Tropiduridae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | Uracentron azureum azureum (LINNAEUS 1758) Uracentron azureum guentheri BOULENGER 1895 Uracentron azureum werneri MERTENS 1925 |
| Common Names | E: Green Thornytail Iguana G: Dornschwanzleguan Portuguese: Calango-Verde, Lagarto-Espinhoso, Lagarto-Rabo-de-Abacaxi, Tamaquaré-de-Espinho |
| Synonym | Lacerta azurea LINNAEUS 1758: 202 Cordylus azureus — MEYER 1795: 17 Stellio brevicaudatus LATREILLE 1802: 29 Stellio azureus — LATREILLE 1802 Uromastyx azurea — MERREM 1820 Uracentron azureum — KAUP 1826: 88 Doryphorus brevicaudatus — CUVIER 1829: plate 6 Urocentron azurea — WAGLER 1830 Uranocentron [sp. ?] — GRAY 1831 Doryphorus azureus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1837: 371 Uranocentrum [sp. ?] — O'SHAUGHNESSY 1881 Uracentron azureum — BOULENGER 1885: 182 Hoplurus azureus — SCHLEGEL 1858 Urocentron azureum — ANDERSSON 1900: 8 Uracentron azureum — PETERS et al. 1970: 273 Uracentron azureum — HOOGMOED & AVILA-PIRES 1991: 78 Tropidurus azureum — FROST 1992 Tropidurus azureus — HARVEY & GUTBERLET 2000 Uracentron azureum — FROST et al. 2001 Tropidurus azureus — LEHR 2002: 87 Uranocentron azureum — VAZ-SILVA et al. 2015 (in error) Uracentron azureum guentheri BOULENGER 1895 Uracentron guentheri BOULENGER 1895: 729 Uracentron guentheri — PETERS et al. 1970: 274 Uracentron guentheri — DIXON & SOINI 1975 Uracentron azureum guentheri — GREENE 1977: 258 Uracentron azureum guentheri — RIBEIRO-JUNIOR & AMARAL 2016 Uracentron azureum werneri MERTENS 1925 Uracentron werneri MERTENS 1925: 75 Uracentron werneri — PETERS et al. 1970: 274 Uracentron azureum werneri — GREENE 1977: 258 Uracentron azureum werneri — AVILA-PIRES 1995: 210 Uracentron azureum werneri — RIBEIRO-JUNIOR & AMARAL 2016 |
| Distribution | Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, N Brazil (Pará) Colombia guentheri: E Peru (Loreto), NW Brazil (W Amazonas) werneri: Venezuela (Amazonas [HR 34: 386], Orinoco Valley), Colombia Type locality: “Africa” (in error) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: NRM (RMS, Royal Museum Stockholm); iconotype after Seba 1735: p. 62. Type: BMNH 1946.8.29.85 (possibly, fide P. Campbell, pers. comm., May 2019) [guentheri] Holotype: SMF 11203, male [werneri] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Following Ávila-Pires (1995, p. 201), Frost et al. (2001b, p. 363). (1) head not relatively small, body and tail not compressed latero-laterally; (2) body not extremely flattened dorso-ventrally; (3) skull not highly elevated at the level of the orbits; (4) premaxilla broad; (5) nutritive foramina of maxilla striking enlarged; (6) lingual process of dentary present, extending over lingual dentary process of coronoid; (7) angular strongly reduced; (8) medial centrale absent; (9) sternal fontanelle present; (10) circumorbitals distinct from other small supraorbital scales; (11) one enlarged subocular plus 1–5 smaller ones, in contact with supralabials; (12) poorly defined or absent postmental scale series; (13) strong antegular fold; (14) projecting tufts of elongate, spiny scales on the neck absent; (15) dark-banded, green dorsal background or dark dorsal background; (16) dorsals smooth or keeled, ventrals smooth; (17) enlarged middorsal scale row absent; (18) “flash” marks on pre-cloacal region and underneath thighs of males absent; (19) tail very short (0.5–0.7 SVL), nonautotomic, spatulate, heavily mucronate, spinose; (20) fourth finger longer than third; (21) lateral fringe not developed on both sides of fourth toes; (22) hemipenes attenuate, without apical disks; (23) arboreal (modified by O. Torres-Carvajal and A. Carvalho, pers. comm. 2021). Additional details (159 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Uracentron has been redefined as synonym of Tropidurus by Frost (1992). Illustrations of U. a. werneri in Lamar (1997). Probably also in Bolivia (fide LANGSTROTH 2005) Type species: Lacerta azurea LINNAEUS 1758: 202 is the type species of the genus Uracentron KAUP 1826. |
| Etymology | Named after the blue color, azure in some languages, but eventually derived from the intense blue mineral lapis lazuli. Most specimens are green (and black), but some, including the subspecies werneri, have clear blue coloration on the rear part of their body. The genus was named after Greek oura (οὐρᾷ), tail + Greek centron (κέντρον), sharp point, goad, sting. ["…Les fouettes-queue…"]. |
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