Costa Rica Lizard to ID, please (1 Viewer)

Hi, Everybody! :hi:

Here I have a beautiful Lizard I saw in Carara, Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica, in August 2006. I’d love to know what it is. I’m including two views of him, just in case that helps to identify it.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look!

Marian

It is some type of Amieva. But which one I am not too sure.

Mark

Oh, that was quite quick! Thanks a lot, Mark, at least it is a good clue! I don't have much idea about reptiles and I don't know if this is something obvious or terribly difficult to ID. We will see if somebody knows the Costa Rican Lizards. If not, I can do some research thanks to your help. Thank you again, cheers!

Hola Marian,
The lizard is a Central American whip-tailed lizard (Ameiva festiva). Its local name is Chisbala. This species ranges from Mexico to Colombia. In Costa Rica it inhabits both slopes, from sea level to around 1000m, being fairly common.
Saludos
Eduardo

Thanks a lot, Motmot (or Eduardo )! I was starting to think nobody would be able to help me after two days waiting!

I would like to know why this is a Whip-tailed Lizard. I've had a look in Google and the pictures show many different colorations. Is this a very variable Lizard? Is it identified by morphology?

I have a few more reptiles from Costa Rica to ID, maybe I will post them too if you can help me...

Muchísimas gracias de nuevo, Eduardo!

Marian

A Whip-tail is a kind of lizard, like a skink. All have a very long and somewhat round body, a very long tail and a pointed nose. There are a lot of species, all in the new world. They are pretty smart as lizards go and are extremley active.

-Cole

The truth is I´m not sure 100% of the id! Ameivas are hard to id and very variable, and I´m no expert at all. Pictures on the net are veeeery confusing and surely also include mis-ids, I wouldn´t trust them much. I said Ameiva festiva because your pics show a lizard very similar to the pic of festiva on Twan Leenders "Amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica" (I guess the photo in this book must be correctly ided!). The problem is I´m not sure if festiva is found in Carara... In the oldish (1983) Daniel Janzen´s "Costa Rican Natural History" Ameiva festiva is said to be found in pacific CRica from San Isidro del General down to Panama (Osa, Golfito), well south of Carara. The Ameiva species similar to A.festiva mentioned for the Carara area on that book is Ameiva undulata. Some A.undulata pics on the net look fairly similar to your lizard so maybe (probably ) I´m wrong and this lizard is undulata and not festiva.
Hopefully someone with experience with both species will find this thread and put us out of our misery.
Good luck!

PS: I´ll be glad to try and help you with more tico reptile pics you may have.

Thanks both, Cole and Eduardo! That was the kind of information I needed: general characteristics of the Amieva lizards and presence in Costa Rica of the possible species found in Carara. I don't have a book of reptiles of the Americas of any kind, and to ID by pics with the Internet is a bit chaotic. After your explanations I'm almost certain it is The Whip-tailed Lizard. I accept it as correctly ID unless somebody contradicts you.

And I agree it is a beautiful Lizard!!!

I will post another Lizard and a snake very soon! Thanks again and best wishes to all of you who had a look in this thread!

Marian