Mesoamericus

Mesoamericus bilobatus, also known commonly as O'Shaughnessy's galliwasp, is a species of lizard in the family Diploglossidae.^[2] The species is native to Central America.

Mesoamericus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Anguimorpha
Family:	Diploglossidae
Genus:	Mesoamericus Schools & Hedges, 2021
Species:	M. bilobatus
Binomial name
Mesoamericus bilobatus (O'Shaughnessy, 1874)
Synonyms[2]
Celestus bilobatus O'Shaughnessy, 1874 Diploglossus bilobatus — Bocourt, 1874 Mesoamericus bilobatus — Schools & Hedges, 2021

Taxonomy

A 2021 study found M. bilobatus to not belong to the genus Diploglossus (which is otherwise only found in South America and the Caribbean), but rather to belong to the monotypic genus Mesoamericus in the subfamily Siderolamprinae.^[2][3]

Geographic range

M. bilobatus is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of M. bilobatus is forest, at altitudes of 2–1,360 m (6.6–4,461.9 ft).^[1]

Description

M. bilobatus has sheathed claws,^[2] which Boulenger (1885) described as "claws nearly entirely concealed in a large compressed sheath formed of a larger supero-lateral and a smaller inferior scale".

Behavior

M. bilobatus is diurnal, terrestrial, and semifossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

M. bilobatus is oviparous.^[2]