Polychrus is the only extant genus of polychrotid lizards in the world.[2] Commonly called bush anoles, they are found in Central and South America, as well as nearby Trinidad and Tobago.
Polychrus | |
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Polychrus acutirostris | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Polychrotidae |
Genus: | Polychrus Cuvier, 1817[1] |
Type species | |
Draco marmoratus Linnaeus, 1758
| |
Species | |
See text |
Polychrus means "many colored". True anoles in other genera are now placed in Dactyloidae. Polychrus is presently in the family Polychrotidae.[3][2]
Though species of Polychrus have an almost exclusively South American distribution today, a stem representative, Sauropithecoides charisticus, was reported from the late Eocene of North Dakota, USA.[5][6]