Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Chinese crocodile lizard

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Genus
  
Shinisaurus Ahl, 1930

Phylum
  
Chordata

Rank
  
Species

Family
  
Shinisauridae

Scientific name
  
Shinisaurus crocodilurus

Higher classification
  
Shinisaurus

Order
  
Scaled reptiles

Chinese crocodile lizard httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons99

Similar
  
Crocodilurus, Scaled reptiles, Xenosaurus, Caiman Lizards, Curly‑tailed lizards

Chinese crocodile lizard shinisaurus crocodilurus


The Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) is a semiaquatic lizard found only in cool forests in the Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou Provinces of southern China, and the Quảng Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. The Chinese crocodile lizard spends much of its time in shallow water or in overhanging branches and vegetation, where it hunts its prey of insects, snails, tadpoles, and worms. Individuals in captivity may be fed baby mice. A rare and little-studied lizard, it is listed in CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade of specimens. This is the only species in the monotypic genus Shinisaurus.

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Chinese crocodile lizard Chinese Crocodile Lizard Rare Pond Predator Animal Pictures and

Interacting with my chinese crocodile lizards


Taxonomy

Chinese crocodile lizard Chinese Crocodile Lizard Rare Pond Predator Animal Pictures and

Shinisaurus (literally "Shin's lizard") honours the biologist Sin Shu-szi (Chinese: 辛树帜; pinyin: Xīn Shùzhì), a member of a joint Chinese-German expedition that discovered this species (as well as the frog Quasipaa shini). Its specific name – like the separate genus Crocodilurus – means "crocodile-tail".

Chinese crocodile lizard Chinese crocodile lizard videos photos and facts Shinisaurus

Shinisaurus was once also regarded as a member of Xenosauridae, but most recent studies of the evolutionary relationships of anguimorphs consider Shinisaurus to be more closely related to monitor lizards and helodermatids than to Xenosaurus. It is now placed in its own family: Shinisauridae.

Description

Chinese crocodile lizard Chinese crocodile lizard photo Shinisaurus crocodilurus G20707

The Chinese crocodile lizard is green, colored with reddish neck markings and alternating bands of light and dark marks. Males are more colorful than females, especially during the breeding season. They are 40–46 cm (16–18 in) long. Perhaps its most distinctive features are the rows of enlarged, bony scales down its back and muscular tail that resemble those of a crocodile.

Conservation

Chinese crocodile lizard Real Monstrosities Chinese Crocodile Lizard

A 2008 study estimated 950 crocodile lizards left in China. Fewer than 200 specimens are left in Vietnam, and until 2013, most of the population in Vietnam had been caught for sale in Guangxi. Habitat loss is the main threat to the species. Before it became a CITES protected species, it was occasionally imported for the pet trade, which also contributed to its population decline. In 2014, it was granted an IUCN Red List status of endangered (EN), based on severe habitat fragmentation and population declines

Chinese crocodile lizard Real Monstrosities Chinese Crocodile Lizard

References

Chinese crocodile lizard Wikipedia