[2] The species was first described in 1887 by Samuel Garman, the assistant director of herpetology and ichthyology at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

[3] The three cotype specimens, all males of varying ages, were acquired by the Museum in 1879, and were collected from Dominica during the "Blake expeditions" conducted by William Healy Dall.

[4] Adult Dominican ground lizards have bright blue spots on their flanks and inner thighs, and a gray or sometimes reddish-brown dorsal surface that is flecked with black.

Juveniles are often confused with adult Gymnophthalmus pleii and Mabuya mabouya, two other lizard species present in the same habitat, because they are fast moving and of similar coloration and size.

[14] They forage through forest litter for fallen fruit such as mangoes, scavenge for carrion, and may also hunt invertebrates or other small lizards.

[22] Though many of its relatives on neighboring islands have gone extinct, the Dominican ground lizard continues to flourish, possibly owing to the absence of the mongoose on Dominica.

[23] Researchers have noted, however, that it may be especially vulnerable to the alteration and fragmentation of its habitat, caused by the continued clearing of forest on Dominica for agricultural uses and consequent erosion.