Kentropyx altamazonica

Pertinent taxonomic references. Cope (1876), Boulenger (1885), Ruthven (1929), Cunha (1961), Gallagher & Dixon (1980, 1992), Gallagher et al. (1986), Cole et al. (1995), Ávila-Pires (1995), Reeder et al. (2002), Giugliano et al. (2007), Werneck et al. (2009), Harvey et al. (2012).

Distribution and habitat. Kentropyx altamazonica is endemic to Amazonia, widespread in the western portion, extending eastward along the Amazon and on both sides of the lower Xingu River, occurring in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (Fig. 8). In Brazil it is known from the states of Pará, Amazonas, Roraima, Acre, Rondônia and Mato Grosso. Kentropyx altamazonica is semiarboreal / semiaquatic and diurnal, inhabitats mostly forested areas in relatively open spots, as forest edges, margins of rivers and streams, and seasonally flooded forest; also found in secondary terra firme forest, roads, and cultivated fields (Dixon & Soini 1975, 1986; Gallagher et al. 1986; Ávila-Pires 1995; Gainsbury & Colli 2003; Pantoja & Fraga 2012; Waldez et al. 2013), and in cerrado enclaves in Rondônia and Amazonas states. It can be found on leaf litter, fallen tree trunks, limbs, and branches, on vegetation above water, and logs floating in the water (Gallagher & Dixon 1992; Ávila- Pires 1995; Vitt et al. 2001). Magnusson & Lima (1984), Rodriguez & Cadle (1990), and Vitt et al. (2001) refer to K. altamazonica as a primarily riverine species, always associated with waterways. Dixon & Soini (1986) observed its ability to run across water surface. In areas of sympatry with K. calcarata and K. pelviceps, K. altamazonica tends to occupy more open situations than the others, which prefer the closed canopy forest (Gallagher et al. 1986; Vitt et al. 2001).