NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red-faced Groundlizard
Pholidoscelis erythrocephalus (Shaw, 1802)
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
The St. Christopher ameiva (Pholidoscelis erythrocephalus), also known as the orange-faced whiptail, orange-tailed ameiva or red-tailed ground lizard, is a species of lizard belonging to the family Teiidae, which includes the whiptails and related species. This lizard is found on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius, and on Saint Kitts and Nevis, where it is scarcer.
Wikipedia contributors, St. Christopher ameiva; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:56:05.339094+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pholidoscelis erythrocephalus (Shaw, 1802)
- Name authority
- (Shaw, 1802)
- Common name
- Red-faced Groundlizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Teiidae
- Genus
- Pholidoscelis
- 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
- familyTeiidae
- genusPholidoscelis
- speciesPholidoscelis erythrocephalus (Shaw, 1802)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pholidoscelis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Common AmeivaPholidoscelis chrysolaemus (Cope, 1868) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Antigua Bank GroundlizardPholidoscelis griswoldi (Barbour, 1916) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dwarf TeiidPholidoscelis lineolatus (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Haitian AmeivaPholidoscelis taeniurus (Cope, 1862) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Puerto Rican Blue-tailed GroundlizardPholidoscelis wetmorei (Stejneger, 1913) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guadeloupe AmeivaPholidoscelis cineraceus (Barbour & Noble, 1915) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mona AmeivaPholidoscelis alboguttatus (Boulenger, 1896) | TeiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Amiva erythrops Cope, 1871 Cope, 1871 | synonym |
| Ameiva erythrocephala Daudin, 1802 Daudin, 1802 | synonym |
| Ameiva nevisana Schmidt, 1920 Schmidt, 1920 | synonym |
| Lacerta erythrocephala Shaw, 1802 Shaw, 1802 | synonym |
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=Pholidoscelis&species=erythrocephalus 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:8GQ6Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.