# Ameiva

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Not to be confused with [amoeba](/source/Amoeba).

***Ameiva***, commonly called **jungle-runners**, is a [genus](/source/Genus) of whiptail [lizards](/source/Lizard) that belongs to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Teiidae](/source/Teiidae).

## Geographic range

Member [species](/source/Species) of the genus *Ameiva* are found in [South America](/source/South_America), [Central America](/source/Central_America) and the Caribbean (West Indies). Their major habitat in four regions of Brazil include: Caatinga, Cerrado, the Amazonian rain forest, and the Amazonian savanna.[1] Additionally, *[Ameiva ameiva](/source/Ameiva_ameiva)* has been [introduced](/source/Introduced_species) to [Florida](/source/Florida) in the [United States](/source/United_States).[2]

## Species

Sourced from "The Reptile Database".[3]

Image Name Distribution Ameiva aggerecusans Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013 Peru Ameiva ameiva (Linnaeus, 1758) – giant ameiva, green ameiva, South American ground lizard, Amazon racerunner Central, South America, and some Caribbean Islands. Ameiva atrigularis (Garman, 1887) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner Trinidad and Tobago and in Venezuela. Ameiva bifrontata Cope, 1862 – Cope's ameiva Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. Ameiva concolor (Ruthven, 1924) Peru. Ameiva fuliginosa (Cope, 1892) Isla de Providencia, San Andrés, and the Swan Islands. Ameiva jacuba Giugliano, Nogueira, Valdujo, Collevatti & Colli, 2013 Brazil. Ameiva nodam Koch, Venegas, Rödder, Flecks & Böhme, 2013 Peru. Ameiva pantherina Ugueto & Harvey, 2011 Venezuela. Ameiva parecis (Colli, Costa, Garda, Kopp, Mesquita, Péres, Valdujo, Vieira & Wiederhecker, 2003) Brazil. Ameiva praesignis (Baird & Girard, 1852) – giant ameiva, Amazon racerunner Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Colombia. Ameiva provitaae García-Pérez, 1995 Venezuela. Ameiva reticulata Landauro, Garcia-Bravo & Venegas, 2015 Peru. Ameiva tobagana Cope, 1879 – Antillean ameiva Grenada and St. Vincent.

*[Nota bene](/source/Nota_bene)*: A [binomial authority](/source/Binomial_nomenclature) in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than *Ameiva*.

## References

1. ["Geographical ecology of a Neotropical lizard: AMeiva ameiva (Teiidae) in Brazil"](https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z94-271#.Xl8MNahKhEY)

1. [Conant R](/source/Roger_Conant_(herpetologist)) (1975). *A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition*. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (*Ameiva ameiva*, pp. 120-121 + Plate 17 + Map 92).

1. [*Ameiva*](http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/search.php?taxon=&genus=Ameiva&submit=Search). The Reptile Database. [http://www.reptile-database.org](http://www.reptile-database.org).

## Further reading

- [Meyer FAA](/source/Friedrich_Albrecht_Anton_Meyer) (1795). *Synopsis reptilium, novam ipsorum sistens generum methodum, nec non Gottingensium huius ordinis animalium enumerationem*. Göttingen: van den Hoek and Ruprecht. 32 pp. (*Ameiva*, new genus, p. 27). (in [Latin](/source/Latin)).

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