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Home »» Lizards »» Phrynosomatidae (North American Spiny Lizards) »» Clark's Spiny Lizards »» Plateau Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus clarkii vallaris)


Plateau Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus clarkii vallaris)Species of Least Concern





Description: S. vallaris are large (6 inches snout-vent length), stocky lizards with a large head, thick neck, and blunt snout. The scales are large and spiny. Coloration is gray-brown (can be darker) with blue-green accents. The side of the neck is marked with a dark bar bordered by white. The dorsal pattern is unmarked in males, but juveniles and females have crossbars. Males have a blue patch on each side of the belly and one under the chin; females lack blue patches. Diagnostic for this species are dark bands on the forearm, described at bracelet-like crossbars.


Habitat: This lizard occurs primarily in wooded habitats of lower mountain: oak-pine woodland, tropical deciduous forest, subtropical thornforest, riparian woodland communities that penetrate into more arid landscapes from forested mountains; it also inhabits rocky areas at the lower edges of foothills and in oak-grassland communities as low as 1,060 meters. It is primarily a tree-dweller (climbs high into trees) but also can be found on the ground among rocks. Woodrat nests in trees may be used as refuges.


Range: In Arizona, Granite Dells, four miles north of Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona. ALso in the Province of Sonora (= southern Arizona). Restricted to Santa Rita Mountains.


Found in these States: AZ


Diet: Feeds on insects, occasionally leaves, buds and flowers.


Reproduction: Central Arizona: eggs laid June to mid-July; most females produce 1 clutch annually, some lay second clutch in July; clutch size averages 20; females sexually mature in 22 months


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the relatively large and stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. No major threats have been identified.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Lizards
           »» Family: Phrynosomatidae - North American Spiny Lizards
             »» Genus: Sceloporus
               »» Species: Sceloporus clarkii - Clark's Spiny Lizard
                 »» Subspecies: Sceloporus clarkii vallaris - Plateau Spiny Lizard

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sceloporus clarkii ", 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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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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