Ameiva ameiva
—
Giant Ameiva
Also known as:
Amazon Whiptail, Amazon Racerunner, Green Ameiva, South American Jungle Runner, South American Ground Lizard

I spent a good forty-five minutes one partly-sunny afternoon waiting for one of the local ameivas to stop moving long enough to get a good picture. If I moved at all, they would instantly dash away and not be seen for at least several minutes. I never did get a good picture; this is the best I could do with a tripod and a 300mm lens.
Here is a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on my 2014 MT Amazon Expeditions trip.


The lizards living on the current grounds of this zoo in Iquitos are native animals taking advantage of the partly-cleared habitat. The largest and most colorful specimens spent most of their time on the inside of a chain-link fence that encircled some grass and a pond with a bunch of turtles. I think they were jealous of the turtles' interpretive sign and wanted one of their own.
My Travelogues and Trip Lists page includes a complete list of the herps I saw in the wild on my 2016 MT Amazon Expeditions trip.

This one was skulking about in the bushes near the reserve buildings.
Online references:
- Ameiva ameiva account on iNaturalist
Printed references:
- Bartlett, R. D., Bartlett, P. B. 1999. A Field Guide to Florida Reptiles and Amphibians
- Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Eighth Edition