''Gambelia'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
lizards, commonly known as leopard lizards, within the family
Crotaphytidae
The Crotaphytidae, or collared lizards, are a family of desert-dwelling reptiles native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Alternatively they are recognized as a subfamily, Crotaphytinae, within the clade Pleurodonta. They are ...
. Leopard lizards are indigenous to arid environments of southwestern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the genus ''Gambelia'' superficially resemble those of the genus ''Crotaphytus''. However, one difference between the
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''Gambelia'' and ''
Crotaphytus'' is that leopard lizards have fracture planes in their tails, allowing the tails to break off when grasped by predators.
Etymology
The
generic name, ''Gambelia'', is in honor of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
naturalist William Gambel
William Gambel (June 1823 – December 13, 1849) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, and botanist from Philadelphia. As a young man he worked closely with the renowned naturalist Thomas Nuttall. At the age of eighteen he traveled overland ...
.
Species
Three species are recognized.
["''Gambelia'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.]
''
Nota bene
(, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well".
It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature
and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...
'': A
binomial authority
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Gambelia''.
References
Further reading
*
Baird SF (1859). ''United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Under the Order of Lieu. Col. W.H. Emory, Major First Cavalry, and United States Commissioner''.
olume 2, Part 2 ''Reptiles of the Boundary, with Notes by the Naturalists of the Survey''. Washington, District of Columbia: Department of the Interior. 35 pp. + Plates I-XLI. (''Gambelia'', new genus, p. 7).
*
Smith HM,
Brodie ED Jr (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. . (Genus ''Gambelia'', p. 108).
Gambelia
Lizard genera
Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird
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