Holcosus festivus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
Holcosus festivus, commonly known as the Central American whiptail, the Middle American ameiva, and the tiger ameiva, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is native to Central America and northern South America.
H. festivus is found from southern Mexico to Colombia. H. festivus is brown-colored, with darker browns making a zig-zag pattern down the back. A similar species is Holcosus quadrilineatus. Juveniles have metallic-blue tails.
H. festivus lives in open habitats. H. f. occidentalis Taylor, 1956 – Costa Rica Nota bene: A taxon author (binomial authority or trinomial authority) in parentheses indicates that the taxon (species or subspecies) was originally described in a different genus (in this case, a genus other than Holcosus).
The subspecific name, edwardsii, is in honor of French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Utría National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize | |
| 9 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 12 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 15 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 16 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 17 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 18 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 19 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 20 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 21 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Middle American Ameiva sighting in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 161 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 38 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Middle American Ameiva in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, against about 40% in October and November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Middle American 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.
Yes
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Middle American Ameiva sightings, Tenorio Volcano National Park has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Middle American Ameiva is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Tenorio Volcano National Park (161 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.
