Sceloporus poinsettii

Sceloporus poinsettii

Crevice spiny lizard

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SPECIES
Sceloporus poinsettii

Sceloporus poinsettii, the crevice spiny lizard, is a species of small, phrynosomatid lizard.

Animal name origin

The epithet, poinsettii, is in honor of American physician, botanist, and statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Appearance

The crevice spiny lizard is typically grey in color, but sometimes can have a ruddy red-brown appearance with a black and white collar around the neck region. The underside is typically light grey, but males often have blue patches on either side of their bellies. The tail typically has black banding. Their scales have a distinctly spiny texture. They can grow to 11.8 cm (4.6 in) snout-to-vent length, and 31.1 cm (12.2 inches) total length.

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Biogeographical realms

In the United States, Sceloporus poinsettii occurs in the Chihuahua Desert and Edwards Plateau regions of Texas and New Mexico. In Mexico it occurs in the border states from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora, eastward through Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. Southward its distribution is less well established, although it is known to occur throughout of the state of Durango, parts of Zacatecas, with additional records from San Luis Potosi in the southeast, and the Pacifica slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Jalisco in the southwest.

Habits and Lifestyle

Crevice spiny lizards are typically shy and nervous, fleeing up a rock face or into a crevice if approached. They prefer semi-arid habitats, often of limestone rock, where there are numerous holes and easily accessible cracks.

Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Crevice spiny lizards are insectivorous, consuming a wide variety of spiders, beetles, and other insects, but they will sometimes also consume tender vegetation.

Mating Habits

Sceloporus poinsettii is one of the several species of Sceloporus that are ovoviviparous. Breeding occurs in the spring, and a litter of up to 11 young are born in midsummer.

Population

References

1. Sceloporus poinsettii Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceloporus_poinsettii
2. Sceloporus poinsettii on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/64138/12748434

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