NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Glossy Shade Lizard
Iphisa elegans Gray, 1851
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Iphisa is a genus of the lizard family Gymnophthalmidae. The genus is monotypic, meaning that it has only one species, Iphisa elegans, and its common name is the glossy shade lizard. I. elegans is native to the Amazon and is typically found in regions of South America, centrally located in the Amazon Basin. The average body length of the glossy shade lizard is 55 mm. Relatively small, these lizards rely on running as their primary form of movement and, interestingly, exhibit death-feigning behavior, which aids in protection from potential predators.
Wikipedia contributors, Iphisa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:20:06.952263+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Iphisa elegans Gray, 1851
- Name authority
- Gray, 1851
- Common name
- Glossy Shade Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Gymnophthalmidae
- Genus
- Iphisa
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyGymnophthalmidae
- genusIphisa
- speciesIphisa elegans Gray, 1851
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Iphisa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Iphisa dorothy Mello, Recoder, Fouquet, Rodrigues & Nunes, 2023 | GymnophthalmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Iphisa pellegrino Mello, Recoder, Fouquet, Rodrigues & Nunes, 2023 | GymnophthalmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Glossy Shade LizardIphisa soinii Dixon, 1974 | GymnophthalmidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Iphisa&species=elegans Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3PV9L. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.