Green keel-bellied lizard, Gastropholis prasina Green keel-bellied lizard, Gastropholis prasina

Green keel-bellied lizard, Gastropholis prasina
photos by S. Spawls

Family: Lacertidae. A slender, bright green arboreal lizard with a prehensile tail. This species is known from only a few scattered localities in East Africa's remaining coastal forests. The green keel-belly is poorly known, but appears to inhabit holes in trees up to 12 meters above the ground; it was recently rediscovered in the Arabuko-Sokoke by James Ashe, of Watamu Kenya, who has observed mating behavior and records clutch sizes of five eggs. See A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa.