Description: A small (up to 2.7 inches from snout to vent), tan, gray-brown, or yellow-brown lizard with a broad, gray mid-dorsal stripe and a light stripe on each upper side. The lower sides are often tinted with orange. Some individuals are boldly patterned and others are relatively plain. Boldly patterned animals have dark, crescent-shaped body blotches, crisp-edged stripes on the back, and a dark patch with a light blue center on each shoulder. The back edge of each body blotch is often trimmed with a thin, light line. Plain individuals are generally gray-brown, lack blotches, and have only faint, soft-edged stripes. Males often have two blue bars on the belly. The scales are pointed, keeled, and overlap like shingles. The scale rows on the sides of the body are horizontal (spines point straight back).
Habitat: Typical habitat in the southwestern United States is bunchgrass of sunny coniferous woodlands and open plains and mountains. The species is most common in dense bunchgrass on east- and south-facing slopes. It is much more abundant in ungrazed grassland than in grazed grassland in southeastern Arizona. The lizard is seemingly very vulnerable to predation; bunchgrass affords needed cover.
Range: In the United States, S. slevini
is found in southeastern Arizona. In Mexico, it is found in Chihuahua, northern Durango, northeastern Sinaloa, and eastern Sonora.
Diet: Feeds on insects (e.g., beetles, ants, true bugs, larvae of butterflies and moths) and spiders.
Reproduction:S. slevini
is oviparous. Eggs are laid in late June in Durango (some females lay second clutch in August), July-August in montane southeastern Arizona, and as late as late August or possibly early September on the Sonoita Plain in southeastern Arizona. Lays one clutch/year in Arizona. Clutch size 5 to 13, increasing with female size. Eggs hatch in August (1st clutch) and October (2nd clutch) in Durango.
Status: Listed as Least Concern because the species has a fairly wide distribution and it has a stable, abundant population in Mexico. The species is considered to be Near Threatened in the northern part of its range, in Arizona, in view of the relatively small, discontinuous geographic range and documented substantial declines in abundance and habitat quality. The rate of decline probably is less than 30% over any 10 year or three generation period, but better information is needed on the current trend in abundance and habitat quality.
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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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