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| The Trinidad Ground Puppy, Bachia heteropa trinitatis (Barbour, 1914) inhabits leaf litter of forests and forest edges. This specimen was found under coconut trash. They feed on insects. Their elongated body and reduced limbs combined with their rings of scales makes them very unusual looking and readily recognizable. I found one of these lizards in the stomach of a coral snake. Maximum body length is about 64 mm, the tail may be 1.6 times the body length. |
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| The Trinidad Shiny Lizard, Gymnophthalmus underwoodi Grant, 1958 is an all female species. This one was found on a lawn in the Arima Valley on a hot, sunny day. Adults reach 44 mm in body length, and have a very long, fragile tail that can be 1.6 times the body length. This species is the result of hybridization between two other species in the genus (G. specious and G. cryptus). |
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| The Luminous Lizard, Proctoporus shrevei Parker, 1935 from Trinidad's Northern Range. This is a juvenile specimen that was collected along a fast moving, rocky stream, it is a terrestrial lizard that uses wet environments on the forest floor. It is also known from caves. Ivan Sanderson suggested that males glow in the dark. Experiments suggest the white spots on the sides of the male may reflect certain wave lengths of light, but it is improbable that it generates light. It is a Trinidad endemic. |
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| Spectacled lizards are distributed from Mexico to Argentina and appear to form the sister group to the Teiidae. They are often called microteiids because of their small size, 100-300 mm and close relationship to the teiids. There are 36 genera and about 160 species that are mostly tropical, although some live in cold temperate environments at high elevations. Many are burrowing or ground dwelling, while others are semi-aquatic or arboreal. The Andes appear to be the area with the greatest diversity of species. All are egg layers, and at least three genera have members that are parthenogenetic (all female species). Elongated bodies with reduced limbs and digits is a common trend in most groups of microteiids. |
