Polychrus marmoratus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Size and Weight

This species, Polychrus marmoratus, is a lizard with an average weight of 101.19 grams, and a total body length ranging from 30 to 50 centimeters.

Head and Scale Characteristics

It has a blunt snout, with large, smooth scales covering the dorsal surface of its head. Scales are smaller on its flanks and the rest of its body.

Base Coloration

Its base coloration is most commonly brown or olive-grey.

Body Markings

Blue or black spots may appear on its head, its neck is bluish, and its ventral region is whitish. Five or six V-shaped bands run across its back.

Diet and Feeding

This lizard is an ambush hunter that preys on insects and spiders, and it also supplements its diet with flowers and seeds.

Habitat

It lives in semi-deciduous forests.

Distribution

Its confirmed distribution includes Guyana, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador; it has also been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Florida.