Ameiva, commonly called jungle-runners, is a genus of whiptail lizards that belongs to the family Teiidae.
Geographic range
Member species of the genus Ameiva are found in South America, Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies).
Their major habitat in four regions of Brazil include: Caatinga, Cerrado, the Amazonian rain forest, and the Amazonian savanna.
Additionally, Ameiva ameiva has been introduced to Florida in the United States.
Species
Sourced from "The Reptile Database".
Image
Name
Distribution
Ameiva aggerecusans Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013
Peru
Ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758) – giant ameiva, green ameiva, South American ground lizard, Amazon racerunner
Central, South America, and some Caribbean Islands.
Ameiva atrigularis (Garman, 1887) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner
Trinidad and Tobago and in Venezuela.
Ameiva bifrontata Cope, 1862 – Cope's ameiva
Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba.
Ameiva concolor (Ruthven, 1924)
Peru.
Ameiva fuliginosa (Cope, 1892)
Isla de Providencia, San Andrés, and the Swan Islands.
Ameiva jacuba Giugliano, Nogueira, Valdujo, Collevatti & Colli, 2013
Brazil.
Ameiva nodam Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013
Peru.
Ameiva pantherina Ugueto & Harvey, 2011
Venezuela.
Ameiva parecis (Colli, Costa, Garda, Kopp, Mesquita, Péres, Valdujo, Vieira & Wiederhecker, 2003)
Brazil.
Ameiva praesignis (Baird & Girard, 1852) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner
Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Ameiva provitaae García-Pérez, 1995
Venezuela.
Ameiva reticulata Landauro, Garcia-Bravo & Venegas, 2015
Peru.
Ameiva tobagana Cope, 1879 – Antillean ameiva
Grenada and St. Vincent.
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Ameiva.
