DOI10.47051/YVCP1548

Published June 2, 2021. Open access.

Gallery ❯

Blue-lipped Tree-Runner (Plica umbra)

Reptiles of Ecuador | Sauria | Tropiduridae | Plica | Plica umbra

English common names: Blue-lipped Tree-Runner, Blue-lipped Tree Lizard, Harlequin Racerunner, Olive Treerunner.

Spanish common names: Lagartija de labios azules (Ecuador), lagartija zanquera (Colombia).

Recognition: ♂♂ 32.4 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=10 cm. ♀♀ 29.9 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=9.4 cm..1 The Blue-lipped Tree-Runner (Plica umbra) can be identified from other Amazonian lizards by having the following combination of features: a cylindrical body (not depressed) without tufts of spiny scales on the neck, keeled imbricate dorsal scales, a conspicuously enlarged interparietal scale, and a long non-spinose tail.24 The Blue-lipped Tree-Runner is further characterized by having a vertebral ridge from the nape to the middle of the body.5 Males differ from females by being larger, having a broader head, larger crest, and a brighter green coloration with dark dorsolateral blotches, and occasionally a bright yellow throat blotch.1,6 Their ventral area is reddish brown. Females, present an olive green to olive tan dorsum and a light pinkish belly.2 There is a black ante-humeral band, which may extend around the neck.5 The epithelial lining of the mouth is blue.1,4

Plica umbra differs from P. plica because the latter has a dorsoventrally compressed body, spiny scales on the neck, a black collar, and a different color pattern consisting of blackish bands and spots on a green background.4 Plica umbra can also be confused with lizards of the genus Enyaloides, but the scales on the head of these other saurians are not plate-like.3

Figure showing variation among individuals of Plica umbra

Figure 1: Individuals of Plica umbra from Yasuní Scientific Station () and Yasuní River (), Orellana province, Ecuador. j=juvenile.

Natural history: FrequentRecorded weekly in densities below five individuals per locality.. Plica umbra is an arboreal lizard that primarily inhabits lowland seasonally-flooded forests,6 terra firme forests,2,7 swamps,8 and forest patches in areas of savanna,7 but may as well be found in plantations9 and parks inside cities.2 Individuals are more abundant during the rainiest months (April–July in Amazonian Ecuador) and less observed during the dry season.6 These lizards are diurnal. Their activity occurs between 8:00 am and 5:00–6:00 pm,2 when the lizards can be observed foraging or basking on tree trunks and branches from ground level to 6 m above the ground,7,10 but they may occur at heights up to 20 m.11 It seems like the preference for large trees corresponds to P. plica, with P. umbra often choosing trees smaller in diameter (20–40 cm).2,6 On rare occasions is the species observed on fallen tree trunks, palm stems, lianas, or on the ground.7 At night, individuals sleep on horizontal branches, vines, or lianas less than 0.7–4 meters above the ground, usually with their body pressed against the perch.4 If disturbed, they jump and disappear into the dark.4,12

Blue-lipped Tree-Runners are ambush predators that feed primarily on ants,1315 but complement their diet with wasps, beetles, grasshoppers, katydids, roaches, assassin bugs, butterflies, insect larvae, millepedes, centipedes, and isopods.8,1618 However, the diet of the species varies geographically.19 When threatened, individuals of P. umbra tend to move to the opposite side of the trunk. If grabbed, they can flatten their body and remain immobile, feigning death, but with the eyes open.20 There are records of P. umbra being preyed upon by birds,2123 and by snakes (Rhinobothryum lentiginosum,24 Phrynonax poecilonotus, Chironius, Bothrops,25 and Siphlophis cervinus).26 Blue-lipped Tree-Runners can be hosts to apicomplexan parasites such as Fallisia audaciosa.27 Also, there are records of nematodes parasitizing on individuals of the species.28,29

Reproduction in Plica umbra seems to take place year-round.4,18,23 Females reach sexual maturity when they attain 6.8–8.1 cm in total length, males at 6.4–8.9 cm.10 Females lay clutches of 2–4 (usually 2) eggs,18,30,31 sometimes in communal nests.32

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Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..3335 Plica umbra is listed in this category given its wide distribution, presumed stable populations, presence in protected areas, and adaptability to human-modified habitats.33 The most important threat for the long-term survival of some populations of this species is large-scale deforestation for agriculture and cattle raising.33 Since P. umbra is a strictly arboreal lizard, populations are not likely to survive in areas largely devoid of trees.8

Distribution: Plica umbra is widely distributed throughout the Amazon basin in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.7 In Ecuador, this lizard has been recorded at elevations ranging between 180 and 722 m (Fig. 2).

Distribution of Plica umbra in Ecuador

Figure 2: Distribution of Plica umbra in Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.

Etymology: The generic name Plica is derived from the Latin word plico (meaning “fold” or “crest”).36,37 It refers to the double fold in the throat of these lizards. The specific epithet umbra is a Latin word meaning “shadow.”37 It refers to the black coloration around the neck.4

See it in the wild: Blue-lipped Tree-Runners can be located with ~2–4% certainty in forested areas throughout the species’ area of distribution in Ecuador. Some of the best localities to find these lizards are Yasuní Scientific Station, Shiripuno Lodge, Huella Verde Lodge, Jatun Sacha Biological Station, and La Selva Lodge. Although individuals can be spotted active on tree trunks during the day, they are much more easily found and approached during the night, when they are sleeping on horizontal branches closer to the ground.

Authors: Alexandra Montoya-Cruz,aAffiliation: Semillero de Investigación BioHerp, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio, Colombia. Andrés F. Aponte-Gutiérrez,bAffiliation: Grupo de Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, Instituto de Genética, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.,cAffiliation: Fundación Biodiversa Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. and Juan Acosta-OrtizaAffiliation: Semillero de Investigación BioHerp, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio, Colombia.

Editor: Alejandro ArteagadAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.

Photographers: Alejandro Arteaga,dAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador. Jose Vieira,dAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,eAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador. and Sebastián Di DoménicofAffiliation: Keeping Nature, Bogotá, Colombia.

How to cite? Montoya-Cruz A, Aponte-Gutiérrez AF, Acosta-Ortiz J (2021) Blue-lipped Tree-Runner (Plica umbra). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J, Guayasamin JM (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/YVCP1548

Literature cited:

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  2. Avila-Pires TCS (1995) Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zoologische Verhandelingen 299: 1–706.
  3. Peters JA, Donoso-Barros R (1970) Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: part II, lizards and amphisbaenians. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Washington, D.C., 293 pp.
  4. Duellman WE (1978) The biology of an equatorial herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador. Publications of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 65: 1–352.
  5. Boulenger GA (1885) Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum. Taylor & Francis, London, 497 pp.
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  7. Ribeiro-Junior MA (2015) Catalogue of distribution of lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Brazilian Amazonia. I. Dactyloidae, Hoplocercidae, Iguanidae, Leiosauridae, Polychrotidae, Tropiduridae. Zootaxa 3983: 001–110. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3983.1.1
  8. Vitt LJ, Zani PA, Avila-Pires TCS (1997) Ecology of the arboreal tropidurid lizard Tropidurus (=Plica) umbra in the Amazon region. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75: 1876–1882.
  9. Whitworth A, Beirne C (2011) Reptiles of the Yachana Reserve. Global Vision International, Exeter, 130 pp.
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  11. Vitt LJ, Magnusson WE, Avila-Pires TCS, Pimentel Lima A (2008) Guide to the lizards of Reserva Adolpho Ducke, Central Amazonia. Áttema Design Editorial, Manaus, 176 pp.
  12. Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
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  14. Vitt LJ (2000) Ecological consequences of body size in neonatal and small-bodied lizards in the neotropics. Herpetological Monographs 14: 288–400. DOI: 10.2307/1467053
  15. Vitt LJ, Pianka ER (2004) Historical patterns in lizard ecology: what teiids can tell us about lacertids. In: Pérez-Mellado V, Riera N, Perera A (Eds) The biology of lacertid lizards: evolutionary and ecological perspectives. Institut Menorqui d’ Estudis, Recerca, 139–157.
  16. Harvey MB, Gutberlet Jr RL (1998) Lizards of the genus Tropidurus (Iguania : Tropiduridae) from the Serrania de Huanchaca, Bolivia: new species, natural history, and a key to the genus. Herpetologica 54: 492–520.
  17. Gasnier TR, Magnusson WE, Lima AP (2011) Foraging activity and diet of four sympatric lizard species in a tropical rainforest. Journal of Herpetology 28: 187–192.
  18. Beebe W (1944) Field notes on the lizards of Kartabo, British Guiana, and Caripito, Venezuela. Part 2. Iguanidae. Zoologica 29: 195–216.
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  20. Melo-Sampaio PR (2017) Plica umbra ochrocollaris (Blue-lipped Tree Lizard). Defensive behavior. Herpetological Review 48: 657.
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  22. de Souza Omena Junior R, dos Santos JL (2010) Dieta de galos-da-serra Rupicola rupicola Linnaeus 1766 durante o período reprodutivo ao Norte de Manaus, Amazonas. Ornithologia 4: 66–73.
  23. Hoogmoed MS (1973) Notes on the herpetofauna of Surinam. IV. The lizards and amphisbaenians of Surinam. Biogeographica 4: 1–419.
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  28. Slimane B, Durette-Desset MC (1996) Four new species of Oswaldocruzia (Nematoda: Trichostrongylina, Molineoidea) parasitizing amphibians and lizards from Ecuador. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 91: 317–328. DOI: 10.1590/S0074-02761996000300012
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  30. Vitt LJ, De la Torre S (1996) A research guide to the lizards of Cuyabeno. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, 165 pp.
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  32. Magnusson WE, Lima AP (1987) Plica umbra: nesting. Herpetological Review 1: 15–18.
  33. Almendáriz A, Aparicio J, Avila-Pires TCS, Perez P (2019) Plica umbra. The IUCN red list of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T44579859A44579870.en
  34. Carrillo E, Aldás A, Altamirano M, Ayala F, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Endara A, Márquez C, Morales M, Nogales F, Salvador P, Torres ML, Valencia J, Villamarín F, Yánez-Muñoz M, Zárate P (2005) Lista roja de los reptiles del Ecuador. Fundación Novum Millenium, Quito, 46 pp.
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Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Plica umbra in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used. Asterisk (*) indicates type locality.

CountryProvinceLocalitySource
ColombiaCaquetáRío CaquetáFMNH 69671
ColombiaPutumayoBajo Río GuamuézFMNH 165209
EcuadorMorona SantiagoCusuimeOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorMorona SantiagoRio CusuimeOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorMorona SantiagoSawastianOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorNapoÁvila HuirunoCAS SUR 8269
EcuadorNapoJatun Sacha ReserveThis work
EcuadorNapoLago AgrioKU 126776
EcuadorNapoLimoncochaLACM 74519
EcuadorNapoMisahuallí, 6.5 km ESE ofMCZ 171933
EcuadorNapoRío TenaiNaturalist
EcuadorNapoRío VillanoOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorNapoSanta Rosa de OtasiNaturalist
EcuadorNapoSuchipakari LodgeThis work
EcuadorNapoYachana LodgeiNaturalist
EcuadorOrellanaApaica, 16.6 km SE ofPhoto by Óscar Pérez
EcuadorOrellanaComunidad El EdénTorres-Carvajal et al. 2019
EcuadorOrellanaComunidad SinchichictaTorres-Carvajal et al. 2019
EcuadorOrellanaHacienda PrimaveraMCZ 154582
EcuadorOrellanaNenkepareThis work
EcuadorOrellanaPuerto Francisco de OrellanaMCZ 163954
EcuadorOrellanaRío Bigal ReservePhoto by Thierry García
EcuadorOrellanaRío ObeparePhoto by Morley Read
EcuadorOrellanaRío Yasuní, near Lake JatuncochaThis work
EcuadorOrellanaSan José de PayaminoMaynard et al. 2016
EcuadorOrellanaShiripuno LodgePhoto by Fernando Vaca
EcuadorOrellanaTaracoa Online multimedia
EcuadorOrellanaTigüinoUSNM 321086
EcuadorOrellanaTiputiní Biological StationCisneros-Heredia 2003
EcuadorOrellanaVía Pompeya Sur–Iro, km 96Photo by Morley Read
EcuadorOrellanaYasuní Scientific StationiNaturalist
EcuadorPastazaArajunoUSNM 201123
EcuadorPastazaBalsauraOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaBataburo LodgeOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaCampo OglánPhoto by Jorge Valencia
EcuadorPastazaCanelosOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaChichirotaUSNM 204266
EcuadorPastazaComunidad PaparawuaCarla Rodríguez, pers. comm.
EcuadorPastazaConambo USNM 201118
EcuadorPastazaGuache Ortega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaHuella Verde LodgePhoto by Christof Tonini
EcuadorPastazaJuyuintzaOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaKallanaMZUTI 5088
EcuadorPastazaKapawi LodgeThis work
EcuadorPastazaKurintzaOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaMargen del Río BobonazaDHMECN 493
EcuadorPastazaOglán RiverUSNM 204272
EcuadorPastazaRío Bobonaza USNM 204270
EcuadorPastazaRío BufeoOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaRío Capahuari Ortega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaRío ChichirotaUSNM 204265
EcuadorPastazaRío HuiyayacuOrtega-Andrade 2010
EcuadorPastazaRío Pucayacu USNM 204271
EcuadorPastazaRío Rutuno USNM 204273
EcuadorPastazaSarayacuThis work
EcuadorPastazaTeresa MamaUSNM 204274
EcuadorPastazaTributario Rio ConamboUSNM 204269
EcuadorSucumbíosAguas NegrasiNaturalist
EcuadorSucumbíosAmazon Dolphin LodgeThis work
EcuadorSucumbíosEstación PUCE CuyabenoOnline multimedia
EcuadorSucumbíosGarzacochaiNaturalist
EcuadorSucumbíosLa Selva LodgeThis work
EcuadorSucumbíosLago AgrioDuellman 1978
EcuadorSucumbíosReserva Ecológica Cofán BermejoDHMECN 8308
EcuadorSucumbíosSani LodgeThis work
EcuadorSucumbíosSanta CeciliaDuellman 1978
EcuadorSucumbíosSector Blanca AiNaturalist
EcuadorSucumbíosShushufindiiNaturalist
PeruAmazonasKayamasUSNM 316745
PeruAmazonasRío KagkaUSNM 316747
PeruAmazonas La Poza MVZ 175400
PeruAmazonas Río Cenepa MVZ 163069
PeruAmazonas Río Conaima MVZ 163070
PeruAmazonas Río SantiagoMVZ 174841
PeruAmazonas Shiringa USNM 568599
PeruAmazonas YutipisMVZ 174839
PeruLoretoRedondocochaFMNH 2008