Sceloporus magister
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''Sceloporus magister'', also known as the desert spiny lizard, is a
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
species of the family
Phrynosomatidae The Phrynosomatidae are a diverse family of lizards, sometimes classified as a subfamily (Phrynosomatinae), found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny ...
, 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 ...
and
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Arizona ...
of North America.


Geographic range

In the United States it is found in the states of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, and
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. It is also found in the Mexican states of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
,
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Chihuahua,
Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
, and
Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
.


Description

An adult male desert spiny lizard usually have conspicuous blue/violet patches on the belly and throat, and a green/blue color on their tails and sides.“Lizards” 28. Science Reference Center Females and juveniles have large combined dark spots on their back and belly areas, and the blue/violet and green/blue coloring is absent. Both sexes have brownish/yellow triangular spots on their shoulders. A female desert spiny lizard will lay anywhere from 4 to 24 eggs during the summertime. A fully grown desert spiny lizard will reach a body length of up to 5.6 inches. Besides their bright colors, the desert spiny lizard changes to darker colors during the winter to allow them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during the summer to reflect the sun's radiation. It is frequently seen doing push-ups, pushing its body up and down, as a form of territorial display. The first recorded case of Leukemia in the family Phrynosomatidae was found in this species.


Distribution

The desert spiny lizard ranges across the deserts of southwestern Arizona and the northeastern plateaus at elevations ranging from near sea level along the Colorado River to about 5,000 feet.


Behavior

Like many desert lizards, desert spiny lizards adjust their internal temperature by changing color so they are darker during cool times, which allows them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during warm times so they reflect more solar radiation. The desert spiny lizard also uses
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
so it is not so easily seen by predators. Usually, during the morning hours, it will be out basking in the sun on rocks or any hard surface that is in direct sunlight, but like many desert reptiles, it will seek shelter, usually underground in burrows or any suitable cover that provides shade, during the hottest part of the day in the summertime, as shade provides cooler temperatures than on the ground's surface. It hibernates in late fall and during the cold months of winter before re-emerging in spring.


Habitat

Biotic communities including Sonoran Desertscrub, Great Basin Desertscrub, Semidesert Grassland, Interior
Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
, and woodlands are home to this lizard. It is usually encountered on lower slopes, bajadas, plains, and low valleys, often in the branches of trees or in the vicinity of ground cover such as wood piles, rock piles, and
pack rat A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus ''Neotoma''. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are notice ...
nests. The desert spiny lizard is a primarily arboreal species that prefer cottonwood, yucca, Joshua trees, and ironwood.


Diet

The desert spiny lizard feeds on a variety of insects including ants, beetles, and caterpillars. It also feeds on spiders, centipedes, and small lizards.


Subspecies

Four
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 ''Sceloporus magister'', including the nominate race, are recognized. * ''S. m. bimaculosus'' Phelan & Brattstrom, 1955 * ''S. m. cephaloflavus'' W. Tanner, 1955 * ''S. m. magister'' Hallowell, 1854 * ''S. m. transversus'' Phelan & Brattstrom, 1955 ''Sceloporus magister monserratensis'' ( Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921) was elevated to a
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 ...
('' Sceloporus monserratensis'') by
herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...
Ernest A. Liner in 1994. ''Sceloporus magister uniformis'' was elevated to species status in 2006 ('' Sceloporus uniformis)'', when genetic analysis revealed that it is sufficiently distinct to merit classification as its own species.


References

* * * “Desert Spiny Lizard.” Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Craig Ivanyi. Web.23 Mar. 2015 "Lizards." Reptiles & Amphibians Of The West (1974): 28. Science Reference Center. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. Brennan, Thomas C. "Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus Magister) - Reptiles of Arizona." Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus Magister) - Reptiles of Arizona. N.p., 2008. Web. 13 May 2015.


External links

* {{Authority control Sceloporus Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Fauna of the Southwestern United States Taxa named by Edward Hallowell (herpetologist) Reptiles described in 1854