Tropidurus erythrocephalus
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropidurus_erythrocephalus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Tropidurus erythrocephalus faces significant pressure from habitat degradation in its restricted range within Brazil's Caatinga dry forest ecosystem. Urban expansion and agricultural conversion are fragmenting the species' specialized rocky outcrop habitats, while introduced livestock grazing alters the vegetation structure essential for this lizard's foraging and thermoregulation. Climate change poses an additional threat through increased aridity and temperature extremes that may exceed the species' physiological tolerance limits.
Habitat
This species inhabits rocky outcrops and stone formations within Brazil's Caatinga dry forest, where it utilizes crevices and boulder surfaces for shelter and thermoregulation. The lizard requires areas with sparse to moderate vegetation cover that provide both basking sites and prey availability in this semi-arid ecosystem.
