Isla Coronados, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

east of the Baja California Peninsula in

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

state,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The island is uninhabited and is part of the Loreto Municipality.

Ecology

Reptilian life

Isla Coronados has 16 species of

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s, including ''

Aspidoscelis hyperythrus The orange-throated whiptail (''Aspidoscelis hyperythrus'') is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species was previously placed in the genus '' Cnemidophorus''. Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotyp ...

'' (orange-throated whiptail), '' Aspidoscelis tigris'' (tiger whiptail), ''

Callisaurus draconoides The zebra-tailed lizard (''Callisaurus draconoides'') is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the Southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico. There are nine recognized subspecies. Habitat ...

'' (zebra-tailed lizard), '' Coleonyx variegatus'' (western banded gecko), '' Coluber fuliginosus'' (Baja California coachwhip), '' Crotalus enyo'' (Baja California rattlesnake), ''

Crotalus ruber :''Common names: red diamond rattlesnake, red rattlesnake, red diamond snake,Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . more'' ''Crotalus ruber'' is a venomous pit viper spec ...

'' (red diamond rattlesnake), ''

Dipsosaurus dorsalis The desert iguana (''Dipsosaurus dorsalis'') 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. Taxonomy The species was ...

'' (desert iguana), '' Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha'' (coast night snake), '' Hypsiglena slevini'' (Baja California night snake), ''

Phyllodactylus nocticolus The peninsula leaf-toed gecko (''Phyllodactylus nocticolus'') is a medium-sized gecko. It is found in southern California (USA) and Baja California (Mexico), including many islands in Gulf of California as well as Islas Magdalena and Santa Marg ...

'' (peninsular leaf-toed gecko), ''

Sauromalus slevini ''Sauromalus slevini'', also known as the Monserrat chuckwalla or Slevin's chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the family Iguanidae. ''S. slevini'' is native to three small islands in the Gulf of California, Sea of Cortés. Tax ...

'' (Slevin's chuckwalla), '' Sceloporus orcutti'' (granite spiny lizard), '' Sceloporus zosteromus'' (Baja California spiny lizard), '' Urosaurus nigricauda'' (black-tailed brush lizard), and ''

Uta stansburiana The common side-blotched lizard (''Uta stansburiana'') is a species of side-blotched lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to dry regions of the western United States and northern Mexico. It is notable for having a unique fo ...

'' (common side-blotched lizard).

Ecology

Reptilian life

References

Further reading