Dead side-blotched lizard

Dead side-blotched lizard
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Phrynosomatidae
Genus:	Uta
Species:	U. lowei
Binomial name
Uta lowei L. Grismer, 1994

The dead side-blotched lizard (Uta lowei), also known commonly as the El Muerto side-blotched lizard and la mancha lateral muerta in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Sceloporinae of the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is endemic to Isla El Muerto, an island in the Gulf of California, Mexico. ^{[1] [2]}

Etymology

The specific name, lowei, is in honor of American herpetologist Charles Herbert Lowe. ^[3]

Description

Uta lowei has strongly keeled dorsal scales, and is light gray to off-white ventrally. Adult males have a dorsal pattern of offset paravertebral dark blotches, with a dense network of turquoise spots. ^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Uta lowei is rocky areas of the marine intertidal zone, but it has also been found in rocky areas of inland desert. ^[1]

Diet

Uta lowei preys predominately upon isopods. ^[2]

Reproduction

Uta lowei is oviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Frost, D.R. (2007). "Uta lowei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T64176A12743615. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64176A12743615.en . Retrieved 17 May 2014.
2. Uta lowei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 28 January 2015.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Uta lowei, p. 161).

Further reading

• Grismer, L.L. (1994). "Three New Species of Intertidal Side-Blotched Lizards (Genus Uta) from the Gulf of California, México". Herpetologica. 50 (4): 451–474. (Uta lowei, new species, p. 464).