There are few descriptions of the reproductive behavior of South American teiid lizards and none for the genus Kentropyx. We describe the behavior of a free-ranging pair of K. calcarata in the Amazonian region of northern Brazil. Other... more
There are few descriptions of the reproductive behavior of South American teiid lizards and none
for the genus Kentropyx. We describe the behavior of a free-ranging pair of K. calcarata in the Amazonian
region of northern Brazil. Other than the male following the female, there were no conspicuous signs of
courtship during 13 min between encountering the pair and the onset of a consensual copulation, which
lasted five minutes. The copulatory behavior of this K. calcarata pair was very similar to that of teiids like
Ameiva, but lacks the bite-hold of the female’s torso, which is common in genera like Aspidoscelis and
Cnemidophorus.
for the genus Kentropyx. We describe the behavior of a free-ranging pair of K. calcarata in the Amazonian
region of northern Brazil. Other than the male following the female, there were no conspicuous signs of
courtship during 13 min between encountering the pair and the onset of a consensual copulation, which
lasted five minutes. The copulatory behavior of this K. calcarata pair was very similar to that of teiids like
Ameiva, but lacks the bite-hold of the female’s torso, which is common in genera like Aspidoscelis and
Cnemidophorus.
