View source for Key tegu

{{Short description|Species of lizard}}
{{speciesbox
| genus = Echinosaura
| species = keyi
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. |author-link=species:Diego Francisco Cisneros-Heredia |author2=Yánez-Muñoz, M. |author2-link=species:Mario Humberto Yánez-Muñoz |date=2016 |title=''Echinosaura keyi '' |volume=2016 |page=e.T50950605A50950612 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T50950605A50950612.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref>
| authority    = ([[species:Thomas H. Fritts|Fritts]] & [[Hobart Muir Smith|H.M. Smith]], 1969)
| synonyms     = *''Teuchocercus keyi'' <br>{{small|Fritts & H.M. Smith, 1969}}
*''Echinosaura keyi'' <br>{{small|— [[species:Omar Torres-Carvajal|Torres-Carvajal]] et al., 2016}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=RDB/>
}}

The '''Key tegu''' ('''''Echinosaura keyi''')'', also known [[Common name|commonly]] as '''Key's teiid''' and '''''la lagartija minadora tropical''''' in Spanish, is a [[species]] of [[lizard]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Gymnophthalmidae]]. The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Ecuador]].<ref name=RDB/>

==Taxonomy==
''Echinosaura keyi'' was formerly known as ''Teuchocercus keyi'' {{small|[[species:Thomas H. Fritts|Fritts]] & [[Hobart Muir Smith|H.M. Smith]], 1969}}, and was the [[type species]] of the [[genus]] ''Teuchocercus'',<ref name=fritts1969>[[species:Thomas H. Fritts|Fritts TH]], [[Hobart Muir Smith|Smith HM]] (1969). "A New Teiid Lizard Genus from Western Ecuador". ''Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science'' '''72''' (1): 54–59. (''Teuchocercus'', new genus; ''Teuchocercus keyi'', new species).</ref> but the genus ''Teuchocercus'' is no longer recognized.<ref name=RDB/>

==Etymology==
The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''keyi'', is in honor of [[Americans|American]] physician and amateur [[Herpetology|herpetologist]] [[species:George Key|George Key]] (1942–1999).<ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Teuchocercus keyi'', p. 140).</ref>

==Geographic range==
The Key tegu is only found in [[Ecuador]] with records from [[Esmeraldas Province|Esmeraldas]] and [[Pichincha Province|Pichincha]].<ref name=RDB/>

==Habitat==
The preferred natural [[habitat]] of ''E. keyi'' is near streams in [[forest]], at altitudes of {{cvt|350|–|1,200|m|ft}}.<ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021"/>

==Reproduction==
''E. keyi'' is [[Oviparity|oviparous]].<ref name=RDB/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species |genus=Echinosaura |species=keyi |accessdate=22 September 2018}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*[[species:Omar Torres-Carvajal|Torres-Carvajal O]] (2001). "Lizards of Ecuador: Checklist, Distribution, and Systematic References". ''Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service'' (131): 1–35. (''Teuchocercus keyi'', p. 14).
*Torres-Carvajal, Omar; [[species:Simón E. Lobos|Lobos, Simón E.]]; [[species:Pablo Javier Venegas-Ibáñez|Venegas, Pablo J.]]; [[species:Germán Chávez|Chávez, Germán]]; [[species:Vanessa Aguirre-Peñafiel|Aguirre-Peñafiel, Vanessa]]; [[species:Daniel Zurita|Zurita, Daniel]]; [[species:Lourdes Y. Echevarría|Echevarría, Lourdes Y.]] (2016). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the most diverse clade of South American gymnophthalmid lizards (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae, Cercosaurinae)". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' '''99''': 63–75. (''Echinosaura keyi'', new combination).
*Torres-Carvajal O, [[species:Gustavo Pazmiño-Otamendi|Pazmiño-Otamendi G]], [[species:David Salazar-Valenzuela|Salazar-Valenzuela D]] (2019). "Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich online portal, with dynamic checklists and photographic guides". ''Amphibian & Reptile Conservation'' '''13''' (1) [General Section]: 209–229 (e178). (''Echinosaura keyi'', p. 213, Table 1). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).


{{Taxonbar|from=Q55279983}}

[[Category:Reptiles of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1969]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Thomas H. Fritts]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Hobart Muir Smith]]
[[Category:Echinosaura]]


{{Gymnophthalmidae-stub}}