Ecpleopus Explained

Ecpleopus is a genus of lizard in the family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus contains only one species, Ecpleopus gaudichaudii, which is endemic to Brazil.

Etymology

The specific name, gaudichaudii, is in honor of French botanist Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré.^[1]

Geographic range

E. gaudichaudii is found in the Atlantic Forest in the Brazilian states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of E. gaudichaudii is forest, where it lives in the leaf litter on the forest floor.

Description

E. gaudichaudii may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about . Its legs are short, and its tail is laterally compressed.

Diet

E. gaudichaudii preys upon small invertebrates such as termites, orthopterans, and spiders.

Reproduction

E. gaudichaudii is oviparous.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ... Teiidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus Ecpleopus, p. 401; species E. gaudichaudii, p. 401).
• Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1839). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième [Volume 5]. Paris: Roret. viii + 854 pp. (Ecpleopus, new genus, pp. 434–436; Ecpleopus gaudichaudii, new species, pp. 436–438). (in French).
• Uzzell, Thomas (1969). "The Status of the Genera Ecpleopus, Arthroseps, and Aspidolaemus (Sauria, Teiidae)". Postilla (135): 1-23.

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]