Holaspis guentheri

Holaspis guentheri
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Holaspis
Species:	H. guentheri
Binomial name
Holaspis guentheri Gray, 1863

Holaspis guentheri, also commonly known as the neon blue-tailed tree lizard, the sawtail lizard, and the western neon blue-tailed tree lizard [2] is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is native to portions of West Africa and Central Africa.

In Ghana

Geographic range

H. guentheri occurs in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of H. guentheri is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 800 m (2,600 ft).[1]

Behavior

H. guentheri is arboreal, and can glide between trees.[1]

Diet

H. guentheri preys upon arthropods, predominately ants.[1]

Reproduction

H. guentheri is oviparous.[1][2] Clutch size is two eggs, which are laid beneath bark.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther.[3]

References

1. Rödel M-O, Penner J, Wagner P (2021). "Holaspis guentheri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13151944A13151949.en. Accessed on 19 October 2023.
2. Species Holaspis guentheri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Holaspis guentheri, p. 110).

Further reading

• Arnold EN (1989). "Systematics and adaptive radiation of Equatorial African lizards assigned to the genera Adolfus, Bedriagaia, Gastropholis, Holaspis and Lacerta (Reptilia: Lacertidae)". Journal of Natural History 23: 525–555.
• Chirio L, Ineich I (2006). "Biogeography of the reptiles of the Central African Republic". African Journal of Herpetology 55 (1): 23–59.
• Gray JE (1863). "Descriptions of Two New Genera of Lizards (Holaspis and Poriodogaster, A. Smith, MS.)". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863: 152–155 + Plates XX–XXI. (Holaspis guentheri, new species, p. 153 + Plate XX, figure 1).
• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618. (Holaspis guentheri, p. 188).