---
title: "Guatemalan Emerald Spiny Lizard"
description: "Sceloporus taeniocnemis — Rettili. Sceloporus taeniocnemis, also known commonly as the Guatemalan emerald spiny lizard and la chachapaja in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/guatemalan-emerald-spiny-lizard
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Guatemalan Emerald Spiny Lizard

> Sceloporus taeniocnemis — Rettili. Sceloporus taeniocnemis, also known commonly as the Guatemalan emerald spiny lizard and la chachapaja in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae.

- Scientific name: *Sceloporus taeniocnemis*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 718
- Wikidata: [Q5314645](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5314645)
- iNaturalist taxon: [36162](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/36162)

## Names

- en: Guatemalan Emerald Spiny Lizard
- de: Smaragdgrüner Stachelleguan
- es: Lagartija espinosa esmeralda chiapaneca

## Countries with the most observations

MX (349), GT (63)

## Summary

Sceloporus taeniocnemis, also known commonly as the Guatemalan emerald spiny lizard and la chachapaja in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to Guatemala and adjacent southeastern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceloporus_taeniocnemis

## Photo

![Guatemalan Emerald Spiny Lizard](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/guatemalan-emerald-spiny-lizard/medium.jpg)

Photo: John Kenrick Gibson · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196162457

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/guatemalan-emerald-spiny-lizard?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).