View source for Oplurus

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Oplurus Cuvieri Kirindy Madagascar.jpg
| taxon = Oplurus
| authority = [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1829
}}

[[File:Oplurus.JPG|thumb|top|An ''Oplurus'' iguana (saxicolous) with tail twice as long as body. Light grey without banding]]

'''''Oplurus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Malagasy fauna|Malagasy]] [[iguania]]n [[lizard]]s, most of which are rock-dwelling [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] [[species]].

The sister genus to ''Oplurus'' is ''Chalarodon'', which contains two species: ''[[Chalarodon madagascariensis]]'' and ''[[Chalarodon steinkampi]]'',<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Miralles | first1 = A. | last2 = Glaw | first2 = F. | last3 = Ratsoavina | first3 = F.M. | last4 = Vences | first4 = M. | year = 2015 | title = A likely microendemic new species of terrestrial iguana, genus ''Chalarodon'', from Madagascar | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3946 | issue = 2| pages = 201–220 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3946.2.3| pmid = 25947685 }}</ref> which are terrestrial iguanas and easily distinguished from ''Oplurus'' by its smaller size and the presence of a distinct [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsal]] crest.

==Species==
The six recognized species in the genus ''Oplurus'' comprise two distinct clades.
<ref name=Gardner>{{cite web|
last1=Gardner|
first1=Charlie|
title=A new, isolated population of ''Oplurus'' (Iguanidae) from Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, western Madagascar|
url=http://www.herpetologynotes.seh-herpetology.org/Volume4_PDFs/Gardner_et_al_Herpetology_Notes_Volume4_pages253-254.pdf|
publisher=Societas Europaea Herpetologica|
access-date=4 Aug 2011|
archive-date=8 September 2014|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908230219/http://www.herpetologynotes.seh-herpetology.org/Volume4_PDFs/Gardner_et_al_Herpetology_Notes_Volume4_pages253-254.pdf}}</ref>
<ref name=DNA>
{{cite journal|
last1=Münchenberg|first1=Tobias|
last2=Wollenberg|first2=Katharina C.|author3-link=Frank Glaw|
last3=Glaw, Frank|
last4=[[:de:Miguel Vences|Vences, Miguel]].|
title=Molecular phylogeny and geographic variation of Malagasy iguanas (''Oplurus'' and ''Chalarodon'')|
journal=Amphibia-Reptilia|
date=4 Sep 2007|volume=29|issue=2008|pages=319–328|doi=10.1163/156853808785112101|doi-access=free}}
</ref>
<ref name="USCH">Uwe Schlüter (2013). ''Madagaskarleguane - Lebensweise, Pflege und Fortpflanzung''. KUS-Verlag, Rheinstetten. {{ISBN|978-3-9808264-8-8}}.</ref>
*Spiny-tailed [[arboreal]] clade:
**[[Blasius Merrem|Merrem's]] Madagascar swift (''[[Oplurus cyclurus]]'')
**Collared iguana (''[[Oplurus cuvieri]]'')
*[[wiktionary:saxicolous|Saxicolous]] (rock dwelling) clade:
**Madagascar blue iguana (''[[Oplurus fierinensis]]'')  (greyish-blue without dark dorsal bands)
**[[Alfred Grandidier|Grandidier's]] Madagascar swift (''[[Oplurus grandidieri]]'' (with light mid-dorsal band)
**[[André Marie Constant Duméril|Duméril's]] Madagascar swift (''[[Oplurus quadrimaculatus]]'') (with four dorsal bands, dorsal scales coarsely granular)
**Marked Madagascar swift (''[[Oplurus saxicola]]'') (different darker color pattern, dorsal scales finely granular)<ref name=Studbook>{{cite web|
last1=Hofstra|
first1=Gerrit|
title=Studbook Breeding Programme|
url=http://www.studbooks.eu/verslagen2008/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20report%202008%20Oplurus%20ssp%20.pdf|
publisher=European Studbook Foundation|
access-date=5 September 2014|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715002250/http://www.studbooks.eu/verslagen2008/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20report%202008%20Oplurus%20ssp%20.pdf|
archive-date=15 July 2015}}</ref>

Because of differences is appearance (i.e. the lack of a black neck band), possibly a larger body, and its geographic isolation, the form of ''[[Oplurus cuvieri]]'' species found on the Comoro archipelago has recently been given full species rank, as ''[[Oplurus comorensis]]'' (Meirte 2004). However the [[Molecular phylogenetics|molecular phylogeny]] research concludes that this full species status is unwarranted.<ref name=DNA/>

==Distribution==
All six species of ''Oplurus'' are all found in [[Madagascar]], with five being [[Endemism|endemic]]. ''[[Oplurus cuvieri]]'' is also found on [[Grande Comore]]  
.<ref name=Redlist>{{cite iucn | author = Vences, M. | author2 = Hawlitschek, O. |name-list-style=amp | title = ''Oplurus cuvieri'' | volume= 2011 | article-number = e.T172763A6913310 | year = 2011 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172763A6913310.en }}</ref> Subfossil remains of a large, extinct, species have also been found on [[Aldabra]].<ref name=Journal2>{{cite journal|last=[[:fr:Edwin Nicholas Arnold|Arnold, E.N.]] |year=1976|title=Fossil reptiles from Aldabra Atoll, Indian Ocean|journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology|volume=29|issue=2|pages=83–116 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19532#page/99/mode/1up|doi=10.5962/bhl.part.6921|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The two spiny-tailed species (''[[Oplurus cuvieri]]'', ''[[Oplurus cyclurus]]'') and ''[[Oplurus fierinensis]]'' are found in the arid parts of the south and west of [[Madagascar]], whilst the other three species are found on the ground and rocks in the central and southern highland regions and the south.<ref name="USCH"/> ''[[Oplurus cuvieri]]'' is the most widely distributed, and the only species found in [[Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park]].<ref name=Gardner/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*[[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier G]]. 1829. ''Le Règne Animal Distribué, d'après son Organisation, pour servir de base à l'Histoire naturelle des Animaux et d'introduction à l'Anatomie Comparé. Nouvelle Edition'' [Second Edition]. ''Tome II'' [Volume 2]. Paris: Déterville. xv + 406 pp. (''Oplurus'', new genus, pp.&nbsp;47–48). (in [[French language|French]]).

{{Taxonbar|from=Q150720}}

[[Category:Oplurus]]
[[Category:Lizard genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier]]