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Sceloporus smaragdinus BOCOURT, 1873

IUCN Red List - Sceloporus smaragdinus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaPhrynosomatidae, Sceloporinae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bocourt’s Emerald Lizard
S: Espinosa Esmeralda 
SynonymSceloporus smaragdinus BOCOURT 1873: 186
Sceloporus squamosus smaragdinus — SMITH 1939: 41
Sceloporus malachiticus smaragdinus — STUART 1951: 55
Sceloporus malachiticus smaragdinus — STUART 1963: 71
Sceloporus smaragdinus — KÖHLER 2000: 85
Sceloporus smaragdinus — WIENS et al. 2010
Sceloporus smaragdinus — MCCRANIE 2018
Sceloporus smaragdinus — HEIMES 2022 
DistributionSE Mexico (Chiapas), Guatemala

Type locality: The vicinity of Sololá, Totonicapan, and Quetzaltenango, 2000 m elevation  
Reproductionviviparous 
TypesSyntypes: MNHN-RA 3148, MNHN-RA 3148A-E, MNHN-RA 3150, MNHN-RA 3150A-C, MNHN-RA 3177, MNHN-RA 3177A (12 specimens), USNM 11000 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Similar to S. formosus malachiticus, differing in maximum size, size of body scales and in coloration of the male; maximum snout-vent measurement 85 mm.; dorsal scales 38 to 49, average 43; ventral scales 45 to 55, average 50; scales around body 41 to 52, average 48; femoral pores 11 to 18, average 15; frontal seldom separated from interparietal; supraoculars in two irregular rows; one canthal or, if two, the first usually forced above canthal ridge by contact of second canthal and subnasal; loreal very irregular, usually fused with other scales or divided into two or more scales; anterior part of gular region usually orange or red-orange in males; dorsal surfaces of males lined as in /. malachiticus; females colored as in the latter; shoulder spots in males with a narrow dorsal extension not reaching the mid-dorsal line (Smith 1939: 42).


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CommentSynonymy: Sceloporus schmidti has been removed from the synonymy of S. smaragdinus Bocourt 1873 by MCCRANIE 2015: 369 and MCCRANIE 2018.

Group: S. formosus group (sensu lato, fide PÉREZ-RAMOS & SALDAÑA DE LA RIVA 2008) 
EtymologyThe Latin smaragdinus, "emerald-green," aptly refers to the dorsal coloration. 
References
  • Bocourt,M.F. 1873. Notes sur quelques espèces nouvelles d'iguaniens du genre Sceloporus. Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. (ser. 5) 17 (10): 1-2 - get paper here
  • Castillo-Cabrera, F. J., Roldán, R. A., Barrios, M., Burgos-Barrios, C. L., Grajeda, A. L., García, M. J., ... & Orellana, K. S. 2025. Contribution to the knowledge of urban biodiversity in Central America: A checklist to the species of Guatemala City. Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 20(1), 59-66 - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S. 1978. Sexual size differences in the genus Sceloporus. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 51 (13): 441-461 - get paper here
  • Goyenechea Mayer-Goyenechea, Irene;Mendoza Quijano, Fernando 1993. Descripción del cariotipo de Sceloporus smaragdinus (Sauria: Phrynosomatidae). Bol. Soc. Herpetol. Mex. 5 (2): 62-64 - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2022. LIZARDS OF MEXICO - Part 1 Iguanian lizards. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt Am Main, 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Johnson, Jerry D.; Vicente Mata-Silva, Elí García Padilla, and Larry David Wilson 2015. The Herpetofauna of Chiapas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (3): 272–329. - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • Köhler, G. & Heimes, P. 2002. Stachelleguane. Herpeton-Verlag (Offenbach), 174 pp.
  • Lemos-Espinal, J. A., & Smith, G. R. 2025. Herpetofaunal Richness and Conservation Status of the Chiapas Highlands Biogeographic Province in Mexico. Diversity, 17(9), 593
  • McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2018. The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publication Series (2): 1- 666 - get paper here
  • Pérez-Ramos, E. & Saldaña de La Riva, L. 2008. Morphological revision of lizards of the formosus group, genus Sceloporus (Squamata: Sauria) of southern Mexico, with description of a new species. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 44 (3): 77-98 - get paper here
  • Smith, H. M. 1939. The Mexican and Central American lizards of the genus Sceloporus. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. 26: 1-397. - get paper here
  • Stuart, L.C. 1963. A checklist of the herpetofauna of Guatemala. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan (No. 122): 1-150 - get paper here
  • Stuart,L.C. 1971. Comments on the malachite Sceloporus (Reptilia: Sauria: Iguanidae) of Southern México and Guatemala. Herpetologica 27: 235-39. - get paper here
  • Wiens, John J.; Caitlin A. Kuczynski, Saad Arif & Tod W. Reeder 2010. PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF PHRYNOSOMATID LIZARDS BASED ON NUCLEAR AND MITOCHONDRIAL DATA, AND A REVISED PHYLOGENY FOR SCELOPORUS. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54: 150-161 - get paper here
 
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