EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Desert Spiny Lizard

Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister), Family Iguanidae
Arizona, USA

Explanation:  We are in the desert, and this lizard is indeed spiny.  So this is ... uh-huh ... a desert spiny lizard.  

This species ranges through parts of the desert southwest U.S. and into northwest Mexico, across a wide range of elevations up to about 5000 feet (1524 meters).  It is a member of family Iguanidae, and is often spotted sunning itself on rocks and open surfaces, as shown in this week's EPOW photos.

  
I photographed this individual -- likely a female, as it lacked patches of bright blue-green on the belly and throat obvious in males -- in southern Arizona.  

Studies have suggested that the desert spiny lizard is actually a complex of three species; the one highlighted in these photos is still denoted as Sceloporus magister.  

The species seems secure and is not threatened.  

Information:
     Grismer, L.L. and McGuire, J.A.  1996.  Taxonomy and biogeography of the Sceloporus magister complex (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) in Baja California, México.  Herpetologica 52(3):416-427.