Polychrus is the only extant genus of polychrotid lizards in the world. Commonly called bush anoles, they are found in Central and South America, as well as nearby Trinidad and Tobago.
Polychrus means "many colored". True anoles in other genera are now placed in Dactyloidae. Polychrus is presently in the family Polychrotidae.
Species
Polychrus gutturosus seen in Tapir Valley, Tenorio Volcano National Park, Costa Rica.
Polychrus acutirostris – Brazilian bush anole Spix, 1825
Polychrus auduboni – Many-colored bush anole Hallowell, 1845
Polychrus femoralis – Werner's bush anole Werner, 1910
Polychrus gutturosus – Berthold's bush anole Berthold, 1845
Polychrus jacquelinae – Jacqueline's bush anole Koch, Venegas, Garcia-Bravo, and Böhme, 2011
Polychrus liogaster – Boulenger's bush anole Boulenger, 1908
Polychrus marmoratus – many-colored bush anole Linnaeus, 1758
Polychrus peruvianus – Peruvian bush anole Noble, 1924
Fossil history
Though species of Polychrus have an almost exclusively South American distribution today, a stem representative, Sauropithecoides charisticus, was reported from the late Eocene of North Dakota, USA.
