Aspidoscelis deppii
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Aspidoscelis deppii, known commonly as the blackbelly racerunner, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to Central America and southern Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies. The specific name, deppii, is in honor of German naturalist Ferdinand Deppe.
A. deppii is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca), and Nicaragua. The preferred natural habitats of A. deppii are forest, shrubland, grassland, and rocky areas, at altitudes of 0–1,200 m (0–3,937 ft).
A. deppii is oviparous. Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Aspidoscelis deppii infernalis (Duellman & Wellman, 1960) Aspidoscelis deppii deppii (Wiegmann, 1834) Aspidoscelis deppii schizophorus (H.M. Smith & Brandon, 1968 )
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Aspidoscelis. Duellman WE, Wellman J (1960). "A Systematic Study of the Lizards of The Deppei [sic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Ostional Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Las Baulas Marine National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Masaya Volcano National Park | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua |
No species of the same family or order lives in Masaya Volcano National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blackbelly Racerunner sighting in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 7 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Blackbelly Racerunner in Masaya Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–April, June–July and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Masaya Volcano National Park's wettest months, with about 270 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blackbelly Racerunner sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Blackbelly Racerunner sightings, Masaya Volcano National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Santa Rosa National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Ostional Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Las Baulas Marine National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blackbelly Racerunner is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Masaya Volcano National Park (8 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.
