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Oplurus saxicola

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Oplurus saxicola
Opulus saxicola with tail twice as long as body in Tsimanampetsotsa National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Opluridae
Genus: Oplurus
Species:
O. saxicola
Binomial name
Oplurus saxicola
(Grandidier, 1869)

Oplurus saxicola (marked Madagascar swift) is a saxicolous (rock dwelling) iguana. The name of this species, saxicola, comes from the Latin saxum, meaning stone or rock, as they live within that environment.

Description

Extremely depressed reddish-green body, with marked spots. White abdomen. Large throat. Eyes very-large, of triangular form. The scales of the forefeet are webbed; the thighs of rear legs are muscular. Scales of the similar dimensions on the neck to those of the back.[2]

Distribution

The marked Madagascar swift is endemic to the province of Toliara in south-west Madagascar.

References

  1. ^ "Oplurus saxicola". www.iucnredlist.org. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. ^ Grandidier, Alfred. "Descriptions de quelques animaux nouveaux découverts, pendant l'année 1869, sur la côte ouest de Madagascar". Revue et Magazine de Zoologie (Paris). Retrieved 10 September 2014.