CreatureData

Emerald swift

Sceloporus malachiticus Cope, 1864

Status not recordedlizards

The emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus) is a species in the family Phrynosomatidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 12.8 g and reach 7.17 cm in length.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the emerald swift

Weight
12.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
7.02 cm – 7.17 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2 – 10src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
9 months – 18 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the emerald swift?

EMERALD SWIFT · LENGTH 7.17 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 7.17 cm, the recorded maximum length of the emerald swift is about 4.2% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the emerald swift live?

Not recorded

Is the emerald swift endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the emerald swift classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyPhrynosomatidae
  6. genusSceloporus
  7. SpeciesSceloporus malachiticus Cope, 1864

Synonyms Sceloporus irazuensis

Other names and names in other languages (15)
  • Emerald swift lizardEnglish
  • Green spiny lizardEnglish
  • leguánek malachitovýCzech
  • Malakit-tornleguanDanish
  • StachelleguanGerman
  • Malachit-StachelleguanGerman
  • Malachitgrüner StachelleguanGerman
  • MalachitstachelleguanGerman
  • Lagartija de tapiaSpanish
  • lagartija espinosa esmeraldaSpanish
  • Sceloporo verdeItalian
  • マラカイトハリトカゲJapanese
  • smaragdstekelleguaanDutch
  • Legwanik malachitowyPolish
  • 孔雀針蜥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISWikidata

Relatives of the emerald swift

Other species in the same genus Sceloporus.

Blue belly

Sceloporus occidentalis

PhrynosomatidaeNo free photo yet

Fence lizard

Sceloporus undulatus

PhrynosomatidaeNo free photo yet

CompareEmerald swift vs Blue bellyEmerald swift vs Fence lizardEmerald swift vs Mesquite lizardEmerald swift vs Desert spiny lizard

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the emerald swift?

An adult emerald swift weighs 12.8 g and measures 7.02 cm – 7.17 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the emerald swift?

The emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus) belongs to the family Phrynosomatidae in the order Squamata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-swift

MLA

“Emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-swift.

BibTeX
@misc{emerald_swift_2026,
  title = {Emerald swift (Sceloporus malachiticus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/emerald-swift},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}