Talcahuano Smooth-throated Lizard

About the Talcahuano Smooth-throated Lizard

Liolaemus chiliensis, the Chilean tree iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Liolaemidae, also referred to as the weeping or crying lizard in English. Synonyms for this species include Liodeira chilensis and Calotes chiliensis. Less commonly, it is called the Talcahuano smooth-throated lizard.

This species is well known for its distress calls, although the sound of these calls does not resemble weeping or crying. The specific name chiliensis is derived from the species' country of origin, Chile. It is endemic to central Chile and southwestern Neuquen Province, Argentina. This iguanid lizard is found inhabiting bushes and branches in open forests and ecotonal scrublands or scrub-steppes, chiefly in the Chilean Matorral ecoregion.

Many previous phylogenetic studies for L. chiliensis have been incomplete; a more recent biogeographic analysis from 2006 reconstructs the phylogenetic tree of the lizard's genus and resolves controversies about subgrouping of species or subspecies within L. chiliensis. The authors of this study group L. chiliensis with L. curicensis, L. nitidus, L. robertmensi, L. saxatillis, L. gracilis, and L. tandilensis under the robertmensi group... Wikipedia →