| Desert spiny lizard | |
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| Female (above) and male (below) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
| Genus: | Sceloporus |
| Species: | S. magister |
| Binomial name | |
| Sceloporus magister | |
Sceloporus magister, also known as the desert spiny lizard, is a lizard species of the family Phrynosomatidae, native to the Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert of North America.
In the United States it is found in the states of Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. It is also found in the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango. [3]
An adult male desert spiny lizard usually have conspicuous blue/violet patches on the belly and throat, and a green/blue color on their tails and sides. [4] Females and juveniles have large combined dark spots on their back and belly areas, and the blue/violet and green/blue coloring is absent. Both sexes have brownish/yellow triangular spots on their shoulders. A female desert spiny lizard will lay anywhere from 4 to 24 eggs during the summertime. [4] A fully grown desert spiny lizard will reach a body length of up to 5.6 inches. Besides their bright colors, the desert spiny lizard changes to darker colors during the winter to allow them to absorb more heat from the sunshine, and become lighter during the summer to reflect the Sun's radiation. It is frequently seen doing push-ups, pushing its body up and down, as a form of territorial display. The first recorded case of Leukemia in the family Phrynosomatidae was found in this species. [5]
The desert spiny lizard ranges across the deserts of southern Arizona and the northeastern plateaus at elevations ranging from near sea level along the Colorado River to about 5,000 feet.[ citation needed ]
Like many desert lizards, desert spiny lizards adjust their internal temperature by changing color so they are darker during cool times, which allows them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during warm times so they reflect more solar radiation. The desert spiny lizard also uses camouflage so it is not so easily seen by predators.[ citation needed ]
Usually, during the morning hours, it will be out basking in the sun on rocks or any hard surface that is in direct sunlight, but like many desert reptiles, it will seek shelter, usually underground in burrows or any suitable cover that provides shade, during the hottest part of the day in the summertime, as shade provides cooler temperatures than on the ground's surface. It hibernates in late fall and during the cold months of winter before re-emerging in spring.[ citation needed ]
Biotic communities including Sonoran Desertscrub, Great Basin Desertscrub, Semidesert Grassland, Interior Chaparral, and woodlands are home to this lizard. It is usually encountered on lower slopes, bajadas, plains, and low valleys, often in the branches of trees or in the vicinity of ground cover such as wood piles, rock piles, and pack rat nests. The desert spiny lizard is a primarily arboreal species that prefer cottonwood, yucca, Joshua trees, and ironwood. [6]
The desert spiny lizard feeds on a variety of insects including ants, beetles, and caterpillars. It also feeds on spiders, centipedes, and small lizards.[ citation needed ]
Four subspecies of Sceloporus magister, including the nominate race, are recognized.
Sceloporus magister monserratensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921) was elevated to a species ( Sceloporus monserratensis ) by herpetologist Ernest A. Liner in 1994.
Sceloporus magister uniformis was elevated to species status in 2006 ( Sceloporus uniformis), when genetic analysis revealed that it is sufficiently distinct to merit classification as its own species. [7]
The Phrynosomatidae are a diverse family of lizards, sometimes classified as a subfamily (Phrynosomatinae), found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny lizards prefer rocky deserts or even relatively moist forest edges, and the short-horned lizard lives in prairie or sagebrush environments. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species, with the latter being more common in species living at high elevations.
Spiny lizards is a common name for the genus Sceloporus in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus is endemic to North America, with various species ranging from New York, to Washington, and one occurring as far south as northern Panama. The greatest diversity is found in Mexico. This genus includes some of the most commonly seen lizards in the United States. Other common names for lizards in this genus include fence lizards, scaly lizards, bunchgrass lizards, and swifts.
The western fence lizard is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an adult is characteristically blue, it is also known as the blue-belly.
The desert night lizard is a night lizard native to the Southern California Eastern Sierra and the San Gabriel Mountains into Baja California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and extreme western areas of Arizona.
The desert iguana is an iguana species found in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, as well as on several Gulf of California islands.
The sagebrush lizard or sagebrush swift is a common species of phrynosomatid lizard found at mid to high altitudes in the western United States. It belongs to the genus Sceloporus in the Phrynosomatidae family of reptiles. Named after the sagebrush plants near which it is commonly found, the sagebrush lizard has keeled and spiny scales running along its dorsal surface.
The western long-tailed brush lizard is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.
Aridoamerica denotes a cultural and ecological region spanning Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, defined by the presence of the drought-resistant, culturally significant staple food, the tepary bean. Its dry, arid climate and geography stand in contrast to the verdant Mesoamerica of present-day central Mexico into Central America to the south and east, and the higher, milder "island" of Oasisamerica to the north. Aridoamerica overlaps with both.
Sceloporus malachiticus, the emerald swift or green spiny lizard, is a species of small lizard in the Phrynosomatidae family, native to Central America.
Slevin's bunchgrass lizard is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is indigenous to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.
The southwestern fence lizard, also known as Cowles' prairie lizard, the White Sands prairie lizard or the White Sands swift, is species of spiny lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to the Chihuahuan Desert of the south-western United States and north-central Mexico. Originally described in 1956 as Sceloporus undulatus cowlesi, a subspecies of the eastern fence lizard, subsequent DNA studies elevated the southwestern fence lizard to species status.
Sceloporus uniformis, also known as the yellow-backed spiny lizard, is a reptile of the family Phrynosomatidae. It is native to the Mojave and Great Basin deserts. Until recently, it was considered to be a subspecies of Sceloporus magister.
Sceloporus jarrovii, also known commonly as Yarrow's spiny lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.
The plateau fence lizard is a species of spiny lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae.
The Sonoran horned lizard, also known commonly as Goode's desert horned lizard and el camaleón de Sonora in Mexican Spanish, is a species of horned lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to Arizona in the United States and to Sonora in Mexico.
Sceloporus clarkii, Clark's spiny lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is found in New Mexico and Arizona in the United States and Mexico.
Sceloporus cyanogenys, the bluechinned roughscaled lizard or blue spiny lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is found in Texas in the United States and Mexico.
Sceloporus nelsoni, Nelson's spiny lizard or southern Nelson's lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is endemic to Mexico. This species contains 2 further subspecies, Sceloporus nelsoni barrancarum and Sceloporus nelsoni nelsoni.
Sceloporus taeniocnemis, also known commonly as the Guatemalan emerald spiny lizard and la chachapaja in Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to Guatemala and adjacent southeastern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.
"Desert Spiny Lizard." Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Craig Ivanyi. Web.23 Mar. 2015 "Lizards." Reptiles & Amphibians Of The West (1974): 28. Science Reference Center. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. Brennan, Thomas C. "Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus Magister) - Reptiles of Arizona." Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus Magister) - Reptiles of Arizona. N.p., 2008. Web. 13 May 2015.
| Authority control databases: National |
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