Lepidophyma is a
genus of
lizards, commonly called
Tropical night lizards. The genus
Lepidophyma (
Greek for "warty scales") is one of three
genera of
night lizards (
family Xantusiidae), which are a group of
viviparous (live-bearing)
lizards. There are 19
species of tropical night lizard in the genus
Lepidophyma, making it the most populous night lizard genus. Species of the genus
Lepidophyma are distributed throughout
Central America, found anywhere from central
Mexico to
Panama, depending on the particular species. Tropical night lizards, particularly the yellow-spotted variety, are sometimes called
Central American bark lizards by pet dealers and owners.