Hernandez’s Helmeted Basilisk

About the Hernandez’s Helmeted Basilisk

Corytophanes hernandesii, also known commonly as Hernandez's helmeted basilisk and el turipache de montaña in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Corytophanidae. The species is native to Central America and southern Mexico.

The specific name, hernandesii, is in honor of Spanish naturalist Francisco Hernández (1514–1587). C. hernandesii is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, and in the southern Mexican states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, and Yucatán.

The preferred natural habitat of C. hernandesii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,300 m (4,300 ft). C. hernandesii is diurnal and mostly arboreal. C. hernandesii is oviparous. Gray JE (1831). "A Synopsis of the Species of the Class Reptilia". pp. 1–110. In: Griffith E (1831). The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization, by the Baron Cuvier, Member of the Institute of France &c. &c. &c. with Additional Descriptions of All the Species hitherto Named, and of Many not before Noticed, Volume the Ninth. London: Whittaker, Treacher... Wikipedia →