The southwestern fence lizard (''Sceloporus cowlesi''), also known as Cowles' prairie lizard, the White Sands prairie lizard or the White Sands swift, is

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 ...

spiny lizard Spiny lizards is a common name for the genus ''Sceloporus'' in the family (biology), family Phrynosomatidae. The genus is Endemism, endemic to North America, with various species ranging from New York (state), New York, to Washington (state), W ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Iguanidae The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaph ...

. The species is native to the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...

of the south-western United States and north-central Mexico. Originally described in 1956 as ''Sceloporus undulatus cowlesi'', a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

eastern fence lizard The eastern fence lizard (''Sceloporus undulatus'') is a medium-sized species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Phrynosomatidae. The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. I ...

, subsequent DNA studies elevated the southwestern fence lizard to species status. (''Sceloporus cowlesi'', new status). The following

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...

is based on Leaché and Reeder, 2002, and shows the relationship of ''Sceloporus cowlesi'' to other species in the "''Sceloporus undulatus'' group".

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''cowlesi'', is in honor of American herpetologist

Raymond Bridgman Cowles Raymond Bridgman Cowles (pronounced "coals"; 1896–1975) was a herpetologist and professor at University of California, Los Angeles. Born in the British Colony of Natal (in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) to American missionary parents, h ...

. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Sceloporus cowlesi'', pp. 60–61).

References

Sceloporus Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert Reptiles described in 1956 Taxa named by Charles Herbert Lowe {{lizard-stub