Yellow spotted false monitor - Callopistes flavipunctatus

[Ceratodromeus]

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Lacertilia
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Callopistes
Species: C.flavipunctatus

Description
Of the two recognized members of this genus, C.flavipunctatus is the larger{1}. In 2013, there was debate as to if this species should be seperated from C.maculatus and placed in the monophylectic genus Tejovaranus, but as of this year it remains in the Callopistes genus{2}. Sexual dimorphism is present, with males attaining greater snout-ventral lengths than the females (300mm v 230mm). The largest animals can grow up to a meter in length, most of which is made up of the tail{1,2}. These animals are drab, or earth tone in coloration -- animals light grey/ dark brown in coloration with mottled white and/or yellow patterning arecommon; the legs of the animal are a beautifully contrasting white with black crosshatching. The eyes are small, but the head is large -- this is more pronounced in adult males than it is the females.


Geographic distribution & habitat use
This species is allopatric from its sister taxon, thought to reside in the dry forests of Peru and Ecuador{3}. A lack of study on these animals has resulted in a dearth of information of their habits, but observations on them appear to indicate they spend most of their time in or around burrows, which they dig themselves. They seem to be semi social animals -- at the least gregarious, as some individuals have been observed utilizing the same burrows.


Dietary habits
The yellow spotted false monitor is a voracious predator, and due to its large body size, it can take a wide variety of prey animals -- many of which are large in proportion to the lizard. They forage amongst bushes and othehr low lying vegitation, such as high grasses, from wich they will grab an unsuspecting prey animal by the nape of the neck. The prey animal is then smashed against the ground, or rubbed against the ground in typical teiid fashion. Species recorded as prey for C.flavipunctatus include the Peru desert tegu(Dicrodon guttulatum), the Peruvian meadowlark (Sturnella bellicosa), and racer snakes (Mastigodryas spp.){2,4}. They have also been documented feeding on fruits and flowers.


References
{1} Bartlett, Richard D., and Patricia Pope Bartlett. Monitors, tegus, and related lizards: everything about selection, care, nutrition, diseases, breeding, and behavior. Barron's Educational Series, 1996.
{2} Crespo, Segundo, and Claudia Koch. "Notes on natural history and distribution of Callopistes flavipunctatus (Squamata: Teiidae) in northwestern Peru." SALAMANDRA 51.1 (2015): 57-60.
{3}Koch, Claudia. The Herpetofauna of the Peruvian Dry Forest Along the Andean Valley of the Marañón River and Its Tributaries, with a Focus on Endemic Iguanians, Geckos and Tegus: Squamata: Iguanidae, Phyllodactylidae, Teiidae. Diss. Universitäts-und Landesbibliothek Bonn, 2014.
{4} Lemm, Jeremy. CALLOPISTES FLAVIPUNCTATUS (Yellow-spotted Tegu Monitor). DIET AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. 2016 Herpetological Review 47(1) March