Potamites
Sign in to savePotamites is a genus of lizards in the family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is restricted to northern South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and southern Central America (Costa Rica and Panama). They are semiaquatic and found near streams.
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- Taxonomy and species
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Potamites is a genus of lizards in the family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is restricted to northern South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and southern Central America (Costa Rica and Panama). They are semiaquatic and found near streams.
==Taxonomy and species== Until 2005, species now placed in Potamites were included in Neusticurus, another genus containing semi-aquatic lizards of South America. Despite the move, some still have an English name that refers to their former genus, including P. strangulatus, the big-scaled neusticurus. Even after this split, genetic studies revealed that Potamites was paraphyletic and to resolve this two species were moved to Gelanesaurus in 2016.