Takydromus smaragdinus
The common name for this species comes from its emerald green body. It is only found in the central part of the Ryukyu Islands. It was published by British biologist George Boulenger in 1887. This is a green grass lizard with distinctive white lines along the sides. It has three pairs of chin shields and one pair of femoral pores. Similar to the Koshun grass lizard (Takydromus sauteri), the females are entirely emerald green, while males often have a brown band along the sides, extending from behind the eyes to the tail. This is one species of green grass lizard in the Ryukyu Islands with a relatively wide distribution and stable population. The other two species (Miyako grass lizard (Takydromus toyamai) and Sakishima grass lizard (Takydromus dorsalis)) are endangered.
