Corytophanes

Corytophanes is a genus of Neotropical lizards, commonly called helmeted iguanas or basilisks, in the family Corytophanidae. The genus contains three arboreal species and resides in tropical forests.^[2]

Corytophanes
Corytophanes cristatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Corytophanidae
Genus:	Corytophanes H. Boie in Schlegel, 1826
Species
Three, see text.
Synonyms[1]
Chamæleopsis, Corythophanes

Species

These species are recognized as being valid:^[3]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Corytophanes cristatus (Merrem, 1820)	helmeted iguana	Chiapas in southern Mexico to north-western Colombia
	Corytophanes hernandesii (Wiegmann, 1831)[4]	Hernandez's helmeted basilisk	Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.
	Corytophanes percarinatus A.H.A. Duméril, 1856	Guatemalan helmeted basilisk	El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and southern Mexico (Chiapas).

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Corytophanes.

Etymology

The specific name, hernandesii, is in honor of Spanish naturalist Francisco Hernández (1514-1587).^[5]