Microlophus is a genus of Tropidurid

Tropiduridae

The Tropiduridae is a family of iguanid lizards native to South America and the West Indies. Commonly known as Neotropical ground lizards, most are ground-dwelling animals, and the family includes some lizards adapted to relatively cold climates, including those of the Andes mountains and Tierra...

 lizards. There are twenty recognized species in the genus, and seven of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

 where popularly known as lava lizards (they are sometimes placed in Tropidurus

Tropidurus

The reptile genus Tropidurus includes several species of Neotropical ground lizards . It is the type genus of this family of iguanian lizards. They are found on the South American mainland, especially in the Amazon Rainforest but also in more arid regions...

instead). The remaining are found in the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 and along the Pacific coast of Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

.

The distribution of the lava lizards and their variations in shape, colour and behaviour show the phenomenon of adaptive radiation

Adaptive radiation

In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is the evolution of ecological and phenotypic diversity within a rapidly multiplying lineage. Starting with a recent single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different...

 so typical of the inhabitants of this archipelago. One species occurs on all the central and western islands, which were perhaps connected during periods of lower sea levels, while one species each occurs on six other more peripheral island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s. All have most likely evolved from a single ancestral species. However, as usual for Tropiduridae they can change their color individually to some extent, and members of the same species occurring in different habitats aiso show colour differences. Thus animals living mainly on dark lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 are darker than ones which live in lighter, sandy environments.

Classification

Genus Microlophus

• Microlophus albemarlensis
• Microlophus atacamensis
• Microlophus bivittatus
• Microlophus delanonis
  Microlophus delanonis
  The Microlophus delanonis is one of six species of Lava Lizard endemic to the Galapagos Islands, this species is further endemic to Española Island. The species is commonly attributed to either the genus Microlophus or the genus Tropidurus....
  
  - Española Lava Lizard
• Microlophus duncanensis
• Microlophus grayii
• Microlophus habelii
• Microlophus heterolepis
• Microlophus koepckeorum
• Microlophus occipitalis
• Microlophus pacificus
• Microlophus peruvianus
• Microlophus quadrivittatus
• Microlophus stolzmanni
• Microlophus tarapacensis - Tarapaca Pacific Iguana
• Microlophus theresiae
• Microlophus theresioides
• Microlophus thoracicus
• Microlophus tigris
• Microlophus yanezi