Species Hierarchy
Kingdom ANIMAL (ANIMALIA)
Phylum BACKBONED ANIMALS (CHORDATA)
Class REPTILES (REPTILIA)
Order LIZARDS AND SNAKES (SQUAMATA)
Family SNAKES - GLASS AND ALLIGATOR LIZARDS (ANGUIDAE)
Common name: LIZARD - ALLIGATOR
Scentific name: AMEIVA FESTIVA

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Location: TORTUGUERO, COSTA RICA

Species Info:

This lifeform is found in Central America. This lifeform is found in wooded areas. This lifeform is very common in suitable environments.

Ameiva festiva is found from Mexico to Colombia. This ground dwelling lizard can be up to 14 inches in length. This vividly marked lizard usually has a yellow throat and a yellow series of spots or longitudinal lines.

The Ameiva genus contains 33 species of medium to large lizards and is found from Mexico and the Caribbean south to Ecuador and Argentina.  One species has been introduced into Florida, USA.

Lizards and Snakes (Squamata Order) share many common characteristics and consequently they are grouped in a single order. There are greater differences between some groups of lizards than there are between other groups of lizards and snakes. The same is true of snakes. Lizards and snakes share a common skull shape.

Reptiles (Class Reptilia) are an ancient group of scaled  chordates. These scales may be permanently joined, as in the  turtles, or flexible, as in the snakes. Reptiles are land-based. Their eggs are laid on land and the young are air breathing.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

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