Editing Microlophus (section)

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{For|a taxonomic synonym of a genus of plants|Centaurea}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Microlophus female.JPG
| image_caption = ''[[Microlophus albemarlensis]]'', female, a Galápagos endemic
| taxon = Microlophus
| authority = [[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]] & [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]], 1837
| type_species = ''[[Microlophus peruvianus|Iguana peruviana]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Lesson]], 1830
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = around 20
}}

'''''Microlophus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Tropiduridae|tropidurid]] lizards native to South America.  Around 20 [[species]] are recognized and 10 of these are [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[Galápagos Islands]],{{efn|Some authors consider certain island populations of ''[[Microlophus albemarlensis|M. albemarlensis]]'' to be distinct species.<ref name=Benavides/>}} where they are commonly known as '''lava lizards'''<ref>Fitter, Julian; Fitter, Daniel; Hosking, David (2000). ''Wildlife of the Galalpagos''. Updated Edition. Princeton University Press. p.94.</ref><ref name=Benavides>[[species:Edgar Benavides|Benavides, Edgar]]; Baum, Rebecca; Snell, Heidi M.; Snell, Howard L.; [[species:Jack W. Sites Jr|Sites, Jack W., Jr.]] (2009). [http://siteslab.byu.edu/Portals/25/docs/Publications/BenavidesEtal09.pdf "Island Biogeography of Galápagos Lava Lizards (Tropiduridae: ''Microlophus''): Species Diversity and Colonization of the Archipelago".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060153/http://siteslab.byu.edu/Portals/25/docs/Publications/BenavidesEtal09.pdf |date=2013-09-21 }} (.pdf) ''Evolution'' '''63''' (6): 1606–1626.</ref> (they are sometimes placed in ''[[Tropidurus]]'' instead). The remaining, which often are called '''Pacific iguanas''', are found in the [[Andes]] and along the Pacific coasts of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.

The distribution of the lava lizards and their variations in shape, colour, and behaviour show the phenomenon of [[adaptive radiation]] 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]]s. All have most likely evolved from a single ancestral species. However, as usual for the Tropiduridae, they can change their colour individually to some extent, and members of the same species occurring in different habitats also show colour differences. Thus, animals living mainly on dark [[lava]] are darker than ones that live in lighter, sandy environments.