Microlophus koepckeorum

Microlophus koepckeorum, commonly known as Frost's iguana, is a species of lava lizard in the family Tropiduridae. The species is endemic to Peru.^[2]

Microlophus koepckeorum
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Tropiduridae
Genus:	Microlophus
Species:	M. koepckeorum
Binomial name
Microlophus koepckeorum (Mertens, 1956)
Synonyms[2]
Tropidurus occipitalis koepckeorum Mertens, 1956 Tropidurus koepckeorum — Dixon & Wright, 1975 Plesiomicrolophus koepckeorum — Frost, 1992 Microlophus koepckeorum — Frost et al., 2001

Etymology

The specific name, koepckeorum (genitive plural), is in honor of German-born Peruvian ornithologists Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke and Maria Koepcke, husband and wife.^[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of M. koepckeorum are dry forest and dry shrubland, at altitudes of 400–2,330 m (1,310–7,640 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

M. koepckeorum is oviparous.^[2] An adult female may lay a clutch of 2–6 eggs.^[1]

References

1. Lehr, E.; Venegas, P.; Suárez, J.; Torres, C.; Perez, J. (2015). "Microlophus koepckeorum ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T48444254A48444261. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Microlophus koepckeorum. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Microlophus koepckeorum, p. 144).

Further reading

• Dixon JR, Wright JW (1975). "A Review of the Lizards of the Iguanid Genus Tropidurus in Peru". Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (271): 1–39. (Tropidurus koepckeorum, new status, pp. 28–30, Figure 13, bottom). (in English, with abstracts in English and Spanish).
• Frost D, Rodrigues MT, Grant T, Titus TA (2001). "Phylogenetics of the Lizard Genus Tropidurus (Squamata: Tropiduridae: Tropidurinae): Direct Optimization, Descriptive Efficiency, and Sensitivity Analysis of Congruence Between Molecular Data and Morphology". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21 (3): 352–371. (Microlophus koepckeorum, new combination).
• Mertens R (1956). "Studien über die Herpetofauna Perus I. Zur Kenntniss der Iguaniden-Gattung Tropidurus in Peru ". Senckenbergiana Biologica 37: 101–136. (Tropidurus occipitalis koepckeorum, new subspecies, p. 117). (in German).
• Schlüter W (2000). "Wüstenkielschwanzleguane aus Peru ". Draco 1 (4): 44–49. (in German).