Dominican ground lizard

The Dominican ground lizard lives on the ground and forages for insects and fruit.

I photographed this Pholidoscelis fuscatus, more commonly called the Dominican ground lizard, while visiting the the island of Dominica on a cruise to the Caribbean in 2016.  These lizards are aptly named, as they spend all of their life on the ground searching through leaf litter and ground debris for sustenance.  They eat insects and some vegetable matter, being fond of fruits.  They can grow to modest sizes, having a snout-to-vent (nose to cloaca) length of 20 cm (males), slightly smaller for females.  Including their tail, they could be up to 40 cm.

I found this one trudging through the bush, on the ground, surrounded by forest debris and rocks.  I couldn't get a good photo of it, as there was plenty of foreground foliage to prevent me from getting a clear photo.  If I had time, I could have patiently waited it out, but I was part of a group, and there was no desire to wait around while I took another photo.  The truth is, I could have happily stayed and photographed every living thing I discovered, as all of it was new and exciting.

An interesting fact about the Dominican ground lizard is that it is not endemic to the Dominican Republic, but rather to the Lesser Antilles island called Dominica.  You can see where they originate from below.  They are found exclusively there and nowhere else on the planet.

The Dominican ground lizard is endemic to the island of Dominica.

Endemic species are so interesting.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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