Holcosus undulatus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Holcosus undulatus, also known commonly as the barred whiptail, the metallic ameiva, and the rainbow ameiva, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species occurs in Central America from South Mexico to Costa Rica. There are three recognized subspecies.
H. undulatus is brown-coloured, with a series of darker zig-zag bars running down the sides, often with light blue and green markings along the sides and underside. It is similar to the Middle American ameiva (H. festivus).
H. undulatus lives in litter in open habitats. The following three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized as being valid. Holcosus undulatus dexter (H.M. Smith & Laufe, 1946) Holcosus undulatus miadis (Barbour & Loveridge, 1929)
Holcosus undulatus undulatus (Wiegmann, 1834) Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Holcosus. Wiegmann AFA (1834). Herpetologia Mexicana, seu descriptio amphibiorum Novae Hispaniae quae itineribus comitis Sack, Ferdinandi Deppe et Chr. Guil. Schiede in Museum Zoologicum Berolinense... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 7 | Santa Rosa National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainbow Ameiva sighting in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 21 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rainbow Ameiva in Palo Verde National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–June and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Palo Verde National Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 480 mm in October.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rainbow Ameiva sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Rainbow Ameiva sightings, Palo Verde National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%) and Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 20%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rainbow Ameiva is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Palo Verde National Park (5 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.
