Plica (lizard)

Plica is a genus of tropidurid lizards found in South America and the Caribbean. Species in the genus Plica are arboreal, medium-sized lizards.

Taxonomy
For a long time, the genus Plica was considered to include four species: two relatively widespread ones (P. plica and P. umbra) and two tepuis-associated species with narrow distributions (P. lumaria and P. pansticta). However, recent research has shown that P. plica is a cryptic species complex, and four new species were described in 2013. The species count will likely increase as there are still several undescribed species.

Species
The currently recognized species are the following: Formerly included in Plica plica:
 * Plica lumaria Donnelly & C. Myers, 1991
 * Plica pansticta (C. Myers & Donnelly, 2001)
 * Plica plica (Linnaeus, 1758) – collared tree runner, tree runner
 * Plica umbra (Linnaeus, 1758) – blue-lipped tree lizard, harlequin racerunner
 * Plica caribeana Murphy & Jowers, 2013 – Caribbean treerunner
 * Plica kathleenae Murphy & Jowers, 2013 – Kathleen’s treerunner
 * Plica medemi Murphy & Jowers, 2013 – Medem’s treerunner
 * Plica rayi Murphy & Jowers, 2013 – Ray’s treerunner

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Plica.