Saint Lucia whiptail | |
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St. Lucia whiptail in captivity | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Teiidae |
Genus: | Cnemidophorus |
Species: | C. vanzoi
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Binomial name | |
Cnemidophorus vanzoi (Baskin & E.E. Williams, 1966)
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Synonyms[2][3] | |
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The Saint Lucia whiptail (Cnemidophorus vanzoi), also known commonly as the Maria Islands whiptail, the Saint Lucian whiptail, and Vanzo's whiptail, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is indigenous to the Caribbean.
C. vanzoi is endemic to Saint Lucia, where it has been extirpated from the main island and is now only native to the small islets of Maria Major and Maria Minor, with fewer than 1,000 individuals estimated. A third population has been established on nearby Praslin Island through translocation.
The preferred natural habitats of C. vanzoi are forest and shrubland.[1]
The specific name, vanzoi, is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist Paulo Vanzolini.[4]