ID tips

Remembering off the top of one's head how to distinguish some of the 260 species (and counting) of lizards in the Amazon region is ridiculously challenging. So instead, one learns to read keys and original descriptions, as well as develop an eye for subtle, but consistent differences between taxa. I have relied heavily on material provided by The Reptile Database and original sources to develop these notes to myself, which I organize taxonomically on this page.

I have tailored my tips to characteristics visible in the typical picture on iNaturalist, such as head scales. However, while head scales can be used to distinguish species of Anolis, pictures never seem to capture scalation in sufficient detail to distinguish in anoles the way head scalation shows in Mabuyinae skinks or Tupinambis. So while my tips for skinks focus on upper labial scales and head scalation, for anoles tips become more about color and pattern.

Throughout I use example observations from iNaturalist to illustrate my link-emphasized point, but for some species there may only be a handful of observations making this really difficult. Hopefully, I will be able to update tips as more about these enigmatic lizards is revealed. In fact, in some cases, I provide tips for species not yet observed on this site. Finally, I have used translate.google.com to provide tips in the primary national languages spoken in the Amazon (English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch). I cannot speak to the accuracy of those translations. [comment character limit prevents me from doing the same here]

Feel free to use these tips as needed. Comments are welcome.