DOI10.47051/QNPH8146

Published June 4, 2020. Updated August 24, 2026. Open access. Peer-reviewed.

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Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizard (Riama cashcaensis)

Reptiles of Ecuador | Sauria | Gymnophthalmidae | Riama cashcaensis

English common names: Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizard, Kizirian’s Lightbulb-Lizard.

Spanish common names: Lagartija minadora cola de nabo, lagartija minadora de Cashca Totoras.

Recognition: ♂♂ 14.3 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=6.8 cm. ♀♀ 14.1 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=6.4 cm..1–3 Lightbulb-lizards (Riama) are easily distinguished from other sympatric lizards by their fossorial habits and extremely reduced extremities, where the fore- and hind limbs are too short to meet when adpressed against the body.1,2 The Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizard (R. cashcaensis) is the sole representative of its genus within its known geographic range and is readily recognized by its stocky body, vibrant orange flanks, and the presence of a single superciliary scale.1–3 Other fossorial lizards that may occur in proximity to R. cashcaensis include R. labionis, a more slender reptile that lacks dark blotches on the flanks, and Andinosaura crypta, a longer-limbed saurian featuring distinct pale dorsolateral stripes.2 Adult males of R. cashcaensis display pronounced sexual dimorphism, differing from females by their larger size, broader heads, and brighter reddish coloration along the flanks (Fig. 1).1–3

Figure showing variation among individuals of Riama cashcaensis

Figure 1: Individuals of Riama cashcaensis from La Moya, Bolívar province, Ecuador. j=juvenile.

Natural history: Riama cashcaensis is a rarely encountered, semi-fossorial lizard that inhabits pristine to heavily modified high evergreen montane forests, cloud forests, forest borders, agricultural fields, pastures, and rural gardens.1–5 These lizards persist in anthropogenically altered landscape mosaics composed of pastures, homesteads, and small remnants of native vegetation.1–5 They spend the majority of their lives within self-excavated tunnel systems in loose, friable soils or concealed beneath rocks, decaying logs, and leaf-litter matrices.1–5 Notably, these subterranean burrows are occasionally shared with the lizard Pholidobolus prefrontalis.3 The diet of R. cashcaensis is insectivorous, comprising adult beetles, beetle larvae, hemipterans, leafhoppers, ants, lepidopteran larvae, and orthopterans.1–3 When exposed or unearthed, individuals rapidly attempt to retreat underground; if handled, they may bite or employ caudal autotomy to shed the tail. Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizards exhibit extreme stenothermy, rendering them exceptionally vulnerable to thermal stress—rapidly succumbing to elevated temperatures if exposed to direct sunlight or handled continuously for more than a few seconds.3

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Conservation: Endangered Considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the near future..6 Riama cashcaensis is listed in this category primarily due to severe geographic range contraction, with remaining remnants of native vegetation spanning only approximately 693 km2 within its distribution. The species persists in severely fragmented populations that continue to decline in both habitat area and quality, driven largely by expanding agricultural frontiers, cattle grazing, and the conversion of native Andean forests into exotic eucalyptus and pine plantations.4 Direct human persecution poses an additional threat; local residents frequently kill Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizards on sight due to unfounded fears and superstitions.3 Currently, R. cashcaensis is formally protected within a single reserve, the Cashca Totoras Protected Forest.

Distribution: Riama cashcaensis is endemic to an area of approximately 1,658 km2 in the western slopes of the Andes in central Ecuador (Fig. 2).

Distribution of Riama cashcaensis in Ecuador

Figure 2: Distribution of Riama cashcaensis in Ecuador. The star corresponds to the type locality: Guaranda, Bolívar province. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.

Etymology: The generic name Riama does not appear to be a reference to any feature of this group of lizards, but a matter of personal taste. John Edward Gray usually selected girls’ names to use on reptiles.7–10 The specific epithet cashcaensis is an adjective derived from the Quechua word cashca, a species of tree of the genus Weinmannia that occurs in the habitat of R. cashcaensis.1

Where to observe: Riama cashcaensis is rarely recorded unless field researchers actively target its microhabitat by overturning large rocks, boulders, and decaying logs within patches of remaining native cover. However, this fossorial species can be found in relative abundance along agricultural ecotones—specifically the transition zones between active crop fields, pastures, and fragmented native woodland remnants on the periphery of highland towns such as Guaranda, Guanujo, and Salinas de Guaranda in Bolívar province.

Special thanks to James Baker for symbolically adopting the Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizard and helping bring the Reptiles of Ecuador book project to life.

Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Eric Osterman and Grace Reyes for finding some of the individuals of Riama cashcaensis pictured here.

Author and photographer: Alejandro ArteagaaAffiliation: Fundación Khamai, Reserva Arlequín, Ecoruta Paseo del Quinde km 56, Santa Rosa de Mindo, Pichincha 171202, Ecuador.

Academic reviewer: Jeffrey D CamperbAffiliation: Department of Biology, Francis Marion University, Florence, USA.

How to cite? Arteaga A (2026) Turniptail Lightbulb-Lizard (Riama cashcaensis). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. https://doi.org/10.47051/QNPH8146

Literature cited:

  1. Kizirian DA, Coloma LA (1991) A new species of Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from Ecuador. Herpetologica 47: 420–429.
  2. Kizirian DA (1996) A review of Ecuadorian Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) with descriptions of nine new species. Herpetological Monographs 10: 85–155. https://doi.org/10.2307/1466981
  3. Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
  4. Lewis TR (2002) Threats facing endemic herpetofauna in the cloud forest reserves of Ecuador. Herpetological Bulletin 79: 18–26. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3744655
  5. Quezada-Riera A, Vizcaíno-Barba MC, Millingalli W, Salerno P, Guayasamin JM, Mármol A, Varela A, Salazar-Valenzuela D, Herrera E, Núñez D, Parra Puente D (2024) Anfibios y reptiles de la parroquia de Angamarca. Publicación Miscelánea de la Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco, Alianza Jambato, Quito, 64 pp.
  6. Cisneros-Heredia DF, Yánez-Muñoz M, Brito J (2019) Riama cashcaensis. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T50950469A50950478.en
  7. Gray JE (1831) Description of a new genus of ophisaurean animal, discovered by the late James Hunter in New Holland. Treuttel, Würtz & Co., London, 40 pp.
  8. Gray JE (1831) A synopsis of the species of the class Reptilia. In: Griffith E, Pidgeon E (Eds) The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization. Whittaker, Treacher, & Co., London, 1–110.
  9. Gray JE (1838) Catalogue of the slender-tongued saurians, with descriptions of many new genera and species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1: 274–283.
  10. Gray JE (1845) Catalogue of the specimens of lizards in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum, London, 289 pp.

Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Riama cashcaensis in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Asterisk (*) indicates type locality.

CountryProvinceLocalitySource
EcuadorBolívarGuanujo, 4 km E ofArredondo & Sánchez-Pacheco 2010
EcuadorBolívarGuaranda, 14.1 km E ofKizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarGuaranda, 9.4 km E ofDoan 2003
EcuadorBolívarGuaranda*Kizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarLa MoyaArteaga et al. 2026
EcuadorBolívarLas CochasReptiles of Ecuador book database
EcuadorBolívarRío TatahuazoKizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarRoad to Santa Rosa de TotorasKizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarSalinas de GuarandaReptiles of Ecuador book database
EcuadorBolívarSalinas, 30 km S ofKizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarVía a GuanujoKizirian & Coloma 1991
EcuadorBolívarVía San Pablo–ChillanesReptiles of Ecuador book database
EcuadorChimborazoCajabamba, 35 km SE ofSánchez-Pacheco et al. 2012
EcuadorCotopaxiAngamarcaQuezada-Riera et al. 2024