Tropidurus hispidus
Silhouette: Heitor Campos de Sousa · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Tropidurus hispidus, Peters's lava lizard or neotropical lava lizard, is a species of lizard of the Tropiduridae family. It is found in South America. The scientific name derives from the Greek "Tropidurus" (meaning "keel") and the Latin "hispidus" (meaning "rough" or "shaggy").
Tropidurus hispidus is found in several countries of South America, including Venezuela, Isla Margarita, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil. In Brazil, Tropidurus hispidus has a generally uniform and apparently continuous distribution throughout the Caatinga biome. It also occurs in coastal sand dunes within Restinga habitats of the Atlantic Forest, at several localities in the transition zone between the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest, in the campos rupestres of the Serra do Espinhaço range within the Cerrado biome, and in enclaves of open vegetation in the Amazon biome, extending northward to areas north of the Amazon River. Tropidurus hispidus is considered a habitat generalist and can be found on a wide variety of substrates, including rocks, soil, forest edges, trees, fallen logs, sandy ground, fences and house walls. Its also considered a synanthropic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Leningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Peters' Lava Lizard sighting in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 8 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, October and December
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Peters' Lava Lizard in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Peters' Lava Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Chapada Diamantina National Park, in our data
Chapada Diamantina National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Peters' Lava Lizard sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Peters' Lava Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Chapada Diamantina National Park (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
