Abronia smithi


Abronia smithi is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. Known by the common name Smith's arboreal alligator lizard, the species is endemic to the state of Chiapas in Mexico.

Taxonomy and etymology

A. smithi was described in 1993 by Jonathan A. Campbell and Darrel Frost, and named after the American herpetologist Hobart Muir Smith.

Habitat and geographic range

A. smithi is an arboreal species which lives in the canopies of large trees in the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. Its elevational range is above sea level.

Reproduction

A. smithi is viviparous.

Conservation status

A. smithi is only known to exist in a few localities in Chiapas. It is uncommon and may be threatened by deforestation, but it occurs in protected habitat, including the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve.