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Glite Dictionary
iguanid lizard

iguanid lizard

9.8
A lizard like an iguana, often with a long tail and bright throat patch in males
  • noun
  • /ɪˈɡwɑːnɪd ˈlɪzərd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : iguana
  • We spotted an iguanid lizard basking on a rock in the warm sunshine.

Examples

  • Monitor lizards, such as the leguaan, are exceptional walkers when compared with similar-sized iguanid lizards.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Many iguanid lizards use their long tails for balance while climbing trees.

  • The iguanid lizard features a vibrant throat patch during mating season.

Synonyms

iguanid
vsiguanid lizard
  • Specialized
9.9

A lizard with a long tail that often has a bright throat patch in males

is a fuller formal descriptive phrase for the same group

Surface Forms

iguanid lizard singular
iguanid lizards plural

Morphology

iguanid + lizard

The phrase is fully compositional: 'iguanid' names a lizard family and 'lizard' names the animal, so a learner who knows both words will understand this denotes a lizard belonging to the Iguanidae. This taxonomic noun–noun construction is a transparent, cross-linguistic naming pattern and therefore predictable to learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Iguanid lizard gets its name from the word iguana, a name used by Caribbean people for a large 'lizard'. So Iguanid lizard means a lizard related to iguanas, often with a long tail or a bright throat.