Puerto Rican Ground Lizard

Ever since I started my job here in the BVI, I have been desperate to do a post about these lizards. They're everywhere on the property here, and in my head, I refer to them as "dinosaur lizards", probably due to the way they look like mini-Godzillas to me. They're extremely shy though, so I never managed to really get a picture of one before, but finally, yesterday, there was a slow-moving male outside the office and I was able to grab my camera and snap a few shots.

My favorite thing about the dinosaur lizards is how multi-colored they are in the sun. The sides of the males, especially, are adorned with blue and green spots, but vibrate in the sun, giving them a rainbow-sided look. 






Of course, they aren't really dinosaur lizards. They are, in fact, Puerto Rican Ground Lizards, or some close relative thereof. They are a type of ameiva, and I haven't been able to find much information on them. The El Yunque link indicates that these guys only grow to about 8 inches from snout to vent, but I have definitely seen larger specimens than that here.