EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Explanation:   No amount of fussing with these photos will change the wonderful way this Plateau Lizard blends with its rocky background. 

This lizard has recently been given its own species status as Sceloporus tristichus, but previously, or by some taxonomists still, it has been subsumed as a subspecies of the Eastern Fence Lizard, Sceloporus undulatus tristichus (and thereby named Southern Plateau Lizard). 

Recent molecular analysis of Sceloporus undulatus has suggested that it contains at least 4 evolutionary species (Leaché and Reeder 2002) and is broadly polytypic, that is, widely distributed with several different forms (Miles et al. 2002).  The taxonomy of S. undulatus is confusing -- likely involving several subspecies and perhaps constituting a superspecies complex -- and needs further genetic and molecular analysis.

Either way, this Plateau Lizard has quite a camouflaged color and pattern ... on its back.  But like its eastern and western cousins, Plateau Lizards sport a bright blue belly possibly used for territoriality or mate attraction displays.  

Information:
     Leaché, A. D., and T. W. Reeder. 2002. Molecular systematics of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): a comparison of parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. Systematic Biology 51(1):44-68.
     Miles, D. B., R. Noecker, W. M. Roosenburg, and M. M. White. 2002. Genetic relationships among populations of Sceloporus undulatus fail to support present subspecific designations. Systematic Biology 58(3):277-292.