Martinique curlytail lizard

The Martinique curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus herminieri) is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae).^[1][2]

Martinique curlytail lizard
Conservation status
Extinct  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Leiocephalidae
Genus:	Leiocephalus
Species:	†L. herminieri
Binomial name
†Leiocephalus herminieri (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837)
Synonyms
Holotropis herminieri A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837 Leiocephalus herminieri — Gray, 1845 Liocephalus [sic] herminieri — Boulenger, 1885 Leiocephalus herminieri — Schwartz & Thomas, 1975

Etymology

The specific name, herminieri, commemorates French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.^[2][3]

Extant specimens

There are five specimens of L. herminieri, of which three are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, one in London, and the other in Leiden.^{[citation needed]}

Geographic range

Though Martinique is assumed as the geographic range of L. herminieri, there was some confusion about the type locality in the past. While André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron stated Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago as type locality, George Albert Boulenger has given only Trinidad and Tobago as terra typica.^{[citation needed]}

Biology and extinction

The biology of L. herminieri, the reasons for its extinction, and the date of extinction are unknown. This species was last collected in the 1830s.^[1]

Description

Of the three specimens of L. herminieri in Paris, the largest female is measured at 139 mm (5.5 in) snout-to-vent length (SVL), and the largest male at 126 mm (5.0 in) SVL. The large head scales are more or less distinctly striate. The large dorsal scales are keeled and forming continuous oblique series. The smaller lateral and ventral scales are keeled too. The back is greenish brown with or without irregular yellowish crossbands. The head is yellowish with four or five black bars on the sides. The venter is yellowish. The throat has oblique black transverse bands.^{[citation needed]}