Microlophus grayii, also commonly known as the Floreana lava lizard, Gray's lava lizard, and Gray's Pacific iguana, is a species of lava lizard in the family Tropiduridae. The species is endemic to the Galapagos island of Floreana.Benavides, Edgar; Baum, Rebecca; Snell, Heidi M.; Snell, Howard L.; Sites, Jack W., Jr. (2009). "Island Biogeography of Galápagos Lava Lizards (Tropiduridae: Microlophus): Species Diversity and Colonization of the Archipelago". (pdf) Evolution 63 (6): 1606–1626.
Taxonomy The species, Microlophus grayii, is commonly assigned to the genus Microlophus but has been assigned to the genus Tropidurus.Microlophus grayii. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. It has also been assigned to the family Tropiduridae.
Etymology The specific name, grayii, is in honor of British herpetologist John Edward Gray.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Microlophus grayii, p. 107).
Geographic range M. grayii is found on Floreana Island including its islets Champion and Gardner, in the Galapagos, Ecuador.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of M. grayii is shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to , but it has also been found in urban areas.
Reproduction M. grayii is oviparous.
References
Further reading Bell T (1843). The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the years 1832 to 1836. Edited and Superintended by Charles Darwin ... Naturalist to the Expedition. Part 5. Reptiles. London: Smith, Elder and Company. vi + 51 pp. + Plates 1-20. (Leiocephalus grayii, new species, p. 24 + Plate 14, figure 1). (in English and Latin). Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Tropidurus grayi, pp. 172–173). Frost DR (1992). "Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomy of the Tropidurus Group of Lizards (Iguania: Tropiduridae)". American Museum Novitates (3033): 1-68. (Microlophus grayii, p. 48).