Arboreal alligator lizards are lizards that are from the genus Abronia. The genus Abronia is made up of approximately 28 different species, but today we’ll be focusing on just 10 of these fascinating lizards. Arboreal alligator lizards got their name because not only are they mainly arboreal, but also because their back and belly scales are reinforced by bone, just like they are in alligators. These little lizards are found throughout Northern Central America. It is thought that they are one of the most endangered groups of lizards in the world. This is due to many reasons that we’ll talk about below in the list. Keep scrolling to see some beautiful photos and interesting information about each of the species!
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Top 10 List – Arboreal Alligator Lizards
1. Mexican Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia graminea
Geographic Range: Sierra Madre Oriental Highlands of Mexico
Conservation Status: Endangered
If you want to learn more fun facts about the Mexican arboreal alligator lizard, check out our article 10 Mexican Alligator Lizard Facts.
For the first spot on the list, we have the Mexican arboreal alligator lizard. These are probably the most well-known of the arboreal alligator lizards and the most common of the species currently in the pet trade. These bright green lizards occur in montane forest environments, like cloud or pine-oak forests. While they may look like big scary dragons, Mexican alligator lizards are only around 6 inches in length and weigh around 21g. Like most, if not all, other arboreal alligator lizards, they have a prehensile tail that helps them get around the trees, and if threatened they can drop their tail to try to escape predators. Their tail will regrow afterward, however, it may look slightly different than the original.
Juveniles are light tan in color with dark crossbands across their bodies. Adults can be either bright green or dark teal, with white or yellow around the eyes and on the belly. Their eyes can either be dark black or bright blue. They are threatened by habitat loss and excessive collection for the international pet trade. This is why it is important to buy captive-bred animals if at all possible, so as to not support the smuggling of animals from their natural habitat.
2. Deppe’s Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia deppii
Geographic Range: Mexico
Conservation Status: Endangered
Next, we have the beautiful Deppe’s arboreal alligator lizard. They can be found in the forests of the mountains in Mexico, like the Mexican States of Guerrero and Morelos. It is thought that several individuals may live on the same tree in these forests. They were described in 1828 by Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann. They were given the species name deppii, as well as their common name, in honor of German naturalist Ferdinand Deppe.
Compared to other arboreal alligator lizards, Deppe’s arboreal alligator lizards have extra long tails, limbs, and toes. Their bodies are covered in a mottled black and white pattern, with a yellow or orange belly. There are two different color variations for this species. The population found in Michoacán has grey, solid-colored heads like the photo on the left. The rest of the population have the same black and white pattern on their head, like the photo on the right.
3. Mixtecan Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia mixteca
Geographic Range: Mexico
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Not to be confused with the Mexican arboreal alligator lizard, next we have the Mixtecan arboreal alligator lizard. These beauties were described in 1967 by Charles Mitchill Bogert and Ann Porter. They can only be found in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. There are quite a few reasons that this species has become vulnerable to extinction. The first is that the local people will kill them, as they mistakenly believe that arboreal alligator lizards are venomous (this is not true). The other reasons are similar to many other vulnerable species and include habitat loss and illegal collection for the pet trade. They are not an adaptable species, and wild-caught arboreal alligator lizards tend to have a hard time transitioning to captivity. However, captive-bred lizards tend to be a bit hardier as they have been in the same environment (captivity) for their whole life.
The Mixtecan arboreal alligator lizard can be a mix of colors, including yellows, greens, greys, etc. Some also have black speckles and blotches down their backs. The scales under their chins also appear rather large when compared to other alligator lizards. Their length averages between 20.3 – 27.9cm (8 – 11 inches), and they weigh around 60 grams or so.
4. Red-Lipped Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia lythrochila
Geographic Range: The State of Chiapas in Mexico
Conservation Status: Least Concern
The red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard has a relatively small range of where they are found, but they are fairly common throughout their range. This is why they are one of the very few Abronia species that are listed as least concern and have a fairly stable population. They are threatened by deforestation, however much of their range is thankfully in protected areas. In their range, they can be found in montane, dry pine-oak forests, at elevations of 2000 – 3000m (6561 – 9842 feet).
They can have various colors like brown, tan, grey, etc, usually with various dark blotches along their bodies. Their length generally ranges from 17.8 – 27.9cm (7 – 11 inches). On the sides of their heads, they have cool spiny, horn-like scales. One of their most defining features is that the inside of their lips is red. This is also how they got the name red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard!
5. Campbell’s Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia campbelli
Geographic Range: Guatemala
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
Campbell’s arboreal alligator lizard was first described in 1993 and was named in honor of American herpetologist Jonathan A. Campbell. They were thought to become extinct soon after being discovered, however, they are still around. They have been on the brink of extinction for almost 30 years now. According to IUCN Redlist, these lizards only occupy about 18km² (11.2 miles²) of area. They occupy pine-oak forests of lower montane moist forests, and the loss of this land and the large, mature oak trees that they live on in these forests is contributing to their possible extinction. Another huge problem is the illegal collection for the pet trade, with smugglers being spotted taking these lizards and dwindling their population even more.
Adults are usually grey, brown, or yellow in color with black mottling on their bodies. They also may have a bright white or even yellow ring around their eyes. This is another Abronia species that have spiny horn-like scales on the sides of its heads. They have a snout to vent length (this means their length, not including the tail) of 11.3cm (4.4 inches).
6. Morelet’s Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia moreletii
Geographic Range: Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Morelet’s arboreal alligator lizards are found in central American pine-oak forests and cloud forests between 1450 – 2530m (4760 – 8300 feet) above sea level. Both their common and specific names are in honor of French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet. They were originally in the genus Mesaspis, however, in 2020 they were moved to the Abronia genus. They also have 4 different subspecies, which are:
- Abronia moreletii moreletii
- Abronia moreletii rafaeli
- Abronia moreletii salvadorensis
- Abronia moreletii temporalis
Morelet’s arboreal alligator lizards can vary in color, with two of the colors (yellow-brown and grey) being shown above. They also have various dark-colored markings and blotches. Their heads tend to be narrower and less triangular than other Abronia, and their bodies look much smoother. They only weigh around 15g and are rather small.
7. Brilliant Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia gaiophantasma
Geographic Range: Guatemala
Conservation Status: Endangered
The brilliant arboreal alligator lizard can be found in pine-oak and cloud forests, which is a typical habitat for arboreal alligator lizards. In these forests, they can be found in tank bromeliads (which are plants), Spanish moss, leaf litter, and on tree trunks. They are usually found between 1 – 4m (3.3 – 13.1 feet) from the ground. Their range is in Guatemala, from the Sierra de las Minas east to the Chilascó, and they are thought to only occupy 750km² (446 miles²) of land. They are threatened by loss of land from agriculture, as well as degradation/loss of land from intentionally set fires. Thankfully, they are currently present in a few protected areas.
Their specific name gaiophantasma comes from the Greek words “gaio” which means earth, and “phantasma” which means spirit or phantom. This is thought to refer to the general overall color of the species and how it is similar in hue to the reddish brown clays of their natural habitat. They also have spiny scales on the sides of their heads. Like most other arboreal alligator lizards, the brilliant arboreal alligator lizard is most likely insectivorous and feeds on the insects of their natural habitat.
8. Chiszar’s Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia chiszari
Geographic Range: Mexico
Conservation Status: Endangered
Chiszar’s arboreal alligator lizards can only be found on the slopes of the Santa Marta Volcano in Veracruz, Mexico, at an altitude of 360 – 800m (1181 – 2625 feet). They are found in the canopies of both cloud forests and rainforests. However, they are restricted to forests with tall, mature trees. Clear-cutting of these trees for timber and turning their forests into agricultural land is threatening this species.
They were described in 1981 by Hobart Muir Smith and Rozella B. Smith. Chiszar’s arboreal alligator lizard’s common and species names are both in honor of American herpetologist David Chiszar. Their color appears to be a mix of yellows, greys, blacks, and brown. Like most, if not all, other Abronia, Chiszar’s arboreal alligator lizards are viviparous. This means that instead of laying eggs like many other reptiles, these lizards will birth live young. Females will give birth to around 7 – 14 live young a year, usually from March to July.
9. Bromeliad Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia taeniata
Geographic Range: Mexico
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Bromeliad arboreal alligator lizards are, as with other arboreal alligator lizards, arboreal. This means that they spend the majority of their time off of the ground, and mostly live in higher areas like on trees and various plants. These cool-looking lizards are found in humid montane forests, cloud forests, pine-oak forests, and fir forests. In these forests, they often take refuge in bromeliads, which are plants that provide them with shelter and water. Unfortunately, as with many other arboreal alligators on this list, they are threatened by habitat loss and illegal smuggling for the international pet trade.
The body of the bromeliad arboreal alligator lizard is usually green, with dark bars down their backs. These dark bars are why they are also often referred to as banded arboreal alligator lizards. Their specific name taeniata was also given to them because of these bands. It was derived from the Latin word “taenia” which means ribbon, stripe, or band. Their total length is around 20.3 – 25.4cm (8 – 10 inches).
10. Northern Chiapas Arboreal Alligator Lizard
Scientific Name: Abronia ochoterenai
Geographic Range: Mexico
Conservation Status: Data Deficient
Last but not least, we have the amazingly bright Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard. The Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard was first described in 1939 by Rafael Martin del Campo. He gave them the species name ochoterenai in honor of Mexican biologist Isaac Ochoterena Mendieta, who was Rafael’s mentor. As their name suggests, these lizards are found in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The first two specimens were found in the town of Santa Rosa. Unfortunately, these lizards wouldn’t be spotted again for another 74 years. This is because researchers could not find the exact location where they were first found, as there are over 16 cities named Santa Rosa in the region.
In recent years, HERP.MX was able to find the Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard. They found them in an unnamed sierra on the Atlantic slopes of Southeastern Chiapas. By later counting and comparing scales, they were able to confirm that it was indeed the species they thought. Chris Grünwald was able to take the amazing photographs above that are some of the only photos of these magnificent alligator lizards. They appear to be a bright red color, with a pale chin and lip area. They also seem to have the spiny horn-like scales on the back side of their heads that some Abronia possess.
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