Sceloporus uniformis

Last updated

Yellow-backed spiny lizard
Sceloporus uniformis (1 of 1).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Phrynosomatidae
Genus: Sceloporus
Species:
S. uniformis
Binomial name
Sceloporus uniformis
Phelan & Brattstrom, 1955
Synonyms

Sceloporus magister uniformis

Sceloporus uniformis, also known as the yellow-backed spiny lizard, is a reptile of the family Phrynosomatidae. It is native to the Mojave, Great Basin, and San Joaquin deserts. Until recently, it was considered to be a subspecies of Sceloporus magister .

Contents

Taxonomy

Sceloporus uniformis was originally described as a subspecies of Sceloporus magister in 1955. [1] In 2006, genetic analysis revealed that S. uniformis is sufficiently distinct to merit classification as its own species. [2]

Description

Sceloporus uniformis (adult male). Sceloporus uniformis (male).jpg
Sceloporus uniformis (adult male).

S. uniformis is a large robust lizard, and adults can grow to 5.5 inches in body length (snout-to-vent), with a tail slightly longer than the body. Color is brown or tan with yellow and black dorsal stripes or mottling and a black collar on the sides of the neck. [3]

Males are larger than females, and have a swollen tail base, enlarged postanal scales and femoral pores, and bluish markings on the throat and belly. Females have a pale throat and underbelly, with faint or no blue markings. The head of a female may be orange or reddish in the breeding season. [3]

Range, habitat, and diet

Sceloporus uniformis (breeding female). Inyo County, CA. Sceloporus uniformis (Breeding female).jpg
Sceloporus uniformis (breeding female). Inyo County, CA.
On the OVRO 40 meter Telescope OVRO 40m telescope 03.jpg
On the OVRO 40 meter Telescope

This lizard is native to the Mojave, Great Basin, and San Joaquin deserts. It is endemic to the United States, and can be found in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. [4] S. uniformis can be found living in desert flats, semiarid plains, low mountain slopes, and riparian woods. [3]

Although S. uniformis is primarily an ambush predator, on occasion it will actively forage. This species will eat a variety of small invertebrates and their larvae including ants, beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, centipedes, and caterpillars. Occasionally, small lizards, nestling birds, leaves, flowers and berries are also consumed. [3]

Behavior

Like many desert species, S. uniformis basks in the morning on rocks or any hard surface that is in direct sunlight. It will seek shelter, usually underground in burrows, during the hottest part of the day in the summertime. It hibernates in late fall and during the cold months of winter before re-emerging in spring. [3]

References

  1. Phelan, Robert L.; Brattstrom, Baynard H. (1955). "Geographic variation in Sceloporus magister". Herpetologica. 11 (1): 1–14. JSTOR   3889392.
  2. Schulte, James A.; Macey, J. Robert; Papenfuss, Theodore J. (2006). "A genetic perspective on the geographic association of taxa among arid North American lizards of the Sceloporus magister complex (Squamata: Iguanidae: Phrynosomatinae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 39 (3): 873–880. Bibcode:2006MolPE..39..873S. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.04.033. PMID   16580231. S2CID   46284863.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Nafis. "Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard - Sceloporus uniformis". www.californiaherps.com. Retrieved 2015-08-26.
  4. Goldberg, Stephen (2012). "Reproduction of the Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus uniformis (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) from California" . Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences. 111: 25–28. doi:10.3160/0038-3872-111.1.25. S2CID   85234938 . Retrieved 26 August 2015.

]