Common Puerto Rican ameiva

The common Puerto Rican ameiva, Puerto Rican ground lizard, or siguana común (Pholidoscelis exsul) is a species of lizard in the whiptail family.^[2]

Pholidoscelis exsul on leaf litter.

Common Puerto Rican ameiva
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Teiidae
Genus:	Pholidoscelis
Species:	P. exsul
Binomial name
Pholidoscelis exsul (Cope, 1862)
Synonyms[2]
Ameiva plei var. exsul — Cope, 1862 Ameiva exsul — Carey, 1972 Pholidoscelis exsul — Goicoechea et al., 2016

Geographic range

Ameiva exsul is found in coastal habitats of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, the species is also found on the island of Isla Culebra, as well as in the Toro Negro State Forest.^[3]

Description

Pholidoscelis exsul is a relatively large lizard; males can grow up to 85 cm (33 in). The maximum recorded male snout-to-vent length (SVL) is 201 mm (7.9 in), and the maximum recorded female SVL is 99 mm (3.9 in).

Color patterns vary widely among individuals, populations, and islands. Animals are predominantly colored gray, black, or brown, with large or small white dots along their backs. Dorsolateral stripes vary in number, length, and color. All individuals have a white or blue-white mottled stomach. The chin shield and throat patch are often light pink. Juveniles generally have a bright blue tail and more dots than stripes.

Biology

Puerto Rican ground lizards occur in habitat with open canopy structure and loose sandy soil in elevations between sea-level and 600 m (2,000 ft) where the temperature is above 24 °C (75 °F) year-round.^[4] Ground lizards forage for insects and small fruits and scavenge for dead animals or trash scraps in urban areas.

Reproduction

Sexually mature females of P. exsul bury 2–7 pink eggs approximately 100 mm (3.9 in) below ground in loose soil in June–August. Juveniles may have a bright blue tail, like the closely related Pholidoscelis wetmorei (blue-tailed ground lizard), but they will lose the bright blue color in their tail with age. Individuals can live more than six years.

Threats

The main threat to P. exsul individuals is from other animals which eat ground lizards. Mammalian predators, all invasive species, include feral cats, dogs, and small Indian mongooses. Avian predators include American kestrels, Greater Antillean grackles, and pearly-eyed thrashers.