Tropidurus helenae (Manzani & Abe, 1990)

Uchoa, Lucas Rafael, Delfim, Fagner Ribeiro, Mesquita, Daniel Oliveira, Colli, Guarino Rinaldi, Garda, Adrian Antonio & Guedes, Thais B., 2022, Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil: Detailed and updated overview, Vertebrate Zoology 72, pp. 599-659 : 599

Tropidurus helenae (Manzani & Abe, 1990)

Figs 12.1 and 20

Type locality.

Toca de Cima dos Pilões, municipality of São Raimundo Nonato, state of Piauí, Brazil.

Distribution.

Caatinga endemic species. It is recorded only in the state of Piauí. It shows restricted distribution in the Caatinga and with annual mean temperature 20 to 28°C along three ecoregions (Table 1 ; Appendix S3). Distributed in low to medium elevation areas (259-387 m a.s.l.), with annual mean temperature 26 to 27°C, and average annual rainfall between 702 and 849 mm.

Ecological notes.

Terrestrial and diurnal. It is a saxico-lous species specializing in rocky areas with crevices ( Passos et al. 2011a; Pelegrin et al. 2017). It is found in limestone and sandstone formations and is occasionally found on the ground or in tree trunks ( Manzani and Abe 1990). Diet based mainly on arthropods, being Isoptera , Araneae , and Coleoptera the most representative items ( Pelegrin et al. 2017). Oviparous, no detailed data is known about the number of eggs laid by the species, but it could be similar to other Tropidurus ( Vitt 1991; Ávila et al. 2008).

Figures

Figure 12. Lizards recorded in the Caatinga region. 12.1 Tropidurus helenae; 12.2 Tropidurus hispidus; 12.3 Tropidurus jaguaribanus; 12.4 Tropidurus montanus; 12.5 Tropidurus mucujensis; 12.6 Tropidurus oreadicus; 12.7 Tropidurus pinima and 12.8 Tropidurus semitaeniatus. Photograph credits: Daniel Mesquita (12.1, 12.6, 12.8), Adrian Garda (12.2), Daniel Passos (12.3, 12.4, 12.7), Marco A. Freitas (12.5).