| Sceloporus occidentalis becki | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Lacertilia |
| Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
| Genus: | Sceloporus |
| Species: | S. occidentalis |
| Subspecies: | S. o. becki |
| Trinomial name | |
| Sceloporus occidentalis becki Van Denburgh, 1905 |
|
Sceloporus occidentalis becki, commonly known as the island fence lizard, is a subspecies of the Western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis. The subspecific epithet, becki, is in honor of Rollo Howard Beck, an American ornithologist who collected the first specimens.[1]
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The island fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis becki is endemic[2] to the Channel Islands of California.[3]
Some authors have raised the island fence lizard to the rank of a species, i.e., Sceloporus becki. However, recent work in molecular systematics has suggested that there are four clades and 11 genetically separable populations, and that the subspecies will probably have to be redefined.[4]