Sceloporus poinsettii

crevice spiny lizard
Sceloporus poinsettii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Phrynosomatidae
Genus:	Sceloporus
Species:	S. poinsettii
Binomial name
Sceloporus poinsettii Baird & Girard, 1852

The crevice spiny lizard (Sceloporus poinsettii) is a species of small, phrynosomatid lizard. The epithet, poinsettii, is in honor of American physician, botanist, and statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett.^[1]

Geographic range

It is endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert, in the US states of Texas and New Mexico, and in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango.

Description

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.^[2]

Behavior

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.

Diet

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

Reproduction

They are 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.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sceloporus poinsettii.

• Herps of Texas: Sceloporus poinsettii