Hi,
the "Luminous Lizard" you are referring to is Proctoporus shrevei a small
Teiid from Trinidad. There is a lot of old written folklore regarding the
species by old natural history writers. The ability of the lizard to "glow
in the dark" is apparently due to the light colored ocelli on the laterals
of the animal. The "discovery" of this ability was around 50 years ago,
when the species was found at night with a flashlight while hiding in a
crevice. The luminous effect of the animal startled the guy and theorized
that underneath the ocelli there were light emitting organs. Well, in
reality the flashlight reflected of the highly polished and very white
ocelli, thereby giving the illusion that the animal possessed the ability
to "give off light". I forget who the author was, but this was pretty much
the story (if my memory serves me correctly). The animal is a very small
creature, at about 2 - 2.5 inches snout-vent, and with a tail that is
around 150% of the snout-vent length.
I am not aware of any other folklore surrounding any other species of
lizard considered to be a "Luminous Lizard".
Jon
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