Spiny lizards is a common name for the genusSceloporus in the familyPhrynosomatidae. 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.[1] 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.[2]
Taxonomy
The 114 species in the genus Sceloporus are organized into 21 species groups. However, their relationships to each other are currently under review.[clarification needed] Listed below are species of Sceloporus:[3][4]
Sagebrush spiny lizard (Sceloporus graciosus), Salt Lake County, Utah, USA (3 July 2009)
Sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus)
Desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister), Coconino County, Arizona, USA (6 October 2015)
Desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister), Coconino County, Arizona, USA (17 April 2011)
Northern rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus marmoratus), photographed in situ, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA (14 April 2016).
Big Bend canyon lizard (Sceloporus merriami annulatus) Brewster County, Texas, USA (10 April 2014)
Minor spiny lizard (Sceloporus minor) a male photographed in situ, municipality of Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico (4 October 2008).
Cleft spiny lizard (Sceloporus mucronatus), archeological zone of Cantona, Puebla, Mexico (11 October 2013)
Western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), no data
Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) basking on a fencepost, Highway 102, Colorado County, Texas, USA (26 March 2017)
Crevice spiny lizard (Sceloporus poinsettii), Mason County, Texas, USA (9 May 2014)
Spiny lizard (Sceloporus smithi), Municipality of San Lorenzo Albarradas, Oaxaca, Mexico (20 December 2011)
Torquate lizard (Sceloporus mikeprestoni) photographed in situ, municipality of Miquihuana, Tamaulipas, Mexico (5 October 2008).
Plateau fence lizard (Sceloporus tristichus), Emory County, Utah, USA, (17 September 2016)
Plateau fence lizard (Sceloporus tristichus), Uintah County, Utah, USA (9 June 2012)
Rose-bellied Lizard (Sceloporus variabilis), photographed in situ, municipality of Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico (14 October 2005).
Florida scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi), Palm Beach County, Florida, USA (16 December 2011)
Green spiny lizard (Sceloporus malachiticus) female (left) male (right), Central Highlands, Costa Rica (31 January 2020)
Green spiny lizard (Sceloporus malachiticus), female, Central Highlands, Costa Rica (31 January 2020)
Green spiny lizard (Sceloporus malachiticus), male, Central Highlands, Costa Rica (31 January 2020)
Eastern spiny lizard (Sceloporus spinosus) photographed in situ, municipality of Tula, Tamaulipas, Mexico (22 September 2003).
See also
Moloch horridus, an unrelated Australian lizard that is sometimes also referred to as "spiny lizard"
References
^Köhler G (2008). Reptiles of Central America, 2nd Edition. Offenbach, Germany: Herpeton, Verlag Elke Köhler. 400 pp. ISBN3-936180-28-8.
^Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. Revised Edition. New York: Simon & Schuster. 160 pp. (Genus Sceloporus, pp. 56-57, 155).
^ abcBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Sceloporus jarrovii, p. 292; S. slevin, p. 245; S. tanneri, p. 260).
Further reading
Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus Sceloporus, p. 216).
Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. ISBN0-7167-0020-4. (Genus Sceloporus, pp. 130, 291).
Köhler G, Heimes P (2002). Stachelleguane: Lebensweise, Pflege, Zucht [Spiny Lizards: Way of Life, Care, Breeding]. Offenbach, Germany: Herpeton, Verlag Elke Köhler. 174 pp. ISBN3-9806214-9-9. (in German).
Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 Plates, 207 Figures. ISBN978-0-544-12997-9. (Genus Sceloporus, p. 292).
Smith HM (1939). "The Mexican and Central American Lizards of the Genus Sceloporus ". Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series26: 1–429.
Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN0-307-13666-3 (paperback), ISBN0-307-47009-1 (hardcover). (Genus Sceloporus, p. 114-115).
Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xi + 533 pp. 56 plates, 39 figures. ISBN978-0-395-98272-3. (Genus Sceloporus, p. 283; Sceloporus species accounts, pp. 283–294).
Wiegmann AF (1828). "Beyträge zur Amphibienkunde ". Isis von Oken21 (4): 364–383. (Sceloporus, new genus, p. 369). (in German and Latin).