Desert Collarded Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
Description: C. bicinctores is very similar to the common collared lizard, Crotaphytus collaris, in shape and size, but it lacks the bright extravagant colors. Males can be brown to orange and some red or pink on the belly. Females are more black or dark brown. C. bicinctores has elongated scales near the claws, and the tail is more triangular in shape than round as with C. collaris. C. bicinctores has a broad head, large hind legs, and derives its specific name from the pair of black bands on the neck. Males have broader heads than females, with a dark-colored throat and more pronounced orange crossbands on the body. Adults range in size from 2.5 to 4.5 inches in snout-to-vent length (SVL), with a thick tail that is often twice as long as the body.
Habitat: It is usually found in rocky regions of arid deserts, and is most common in desert scrub and desert wash habitats. It is widely distributed throughout the Mojave, Sonoran, and southeastern Great Basin deserts.
Range: The Great Basin collared lizard is endemic to the Western United States, and is found in California, most of Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and the western regions of Utah and Arizona.
Diet: C. bicinctores eats primarily arthropods, but will also use its powerful jaws to eat small vertebrates including lizards, snakes, and rodents. It has been known to occasionally consume plant matter.
Reproduction: Other members of the same genus lay 1 or 2 clutches of eggs/year. Clutch size 3 to 8. In Utah, egg laying occurs mainly in June. In Arizona, eggs are laid in June or July, hatch in October. Neonates have been observed in August in eastern Oregon. In southern populations some females mature in 1 year.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
Taxonomy: The Great Basin collared lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores), is also commonly known as the desert collared lizard or the Mojave black-collared lizard
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Lizards
»» Family: Crotaphytidae - Collarded & Leopard Lizards
»» Genus: Crotaphytus
»» Species: Crotaphytus bicinctores - Desert Collarded Lizard
»» Subspecies: None
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Great Basin Collarded Lizard", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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