Summary
Crotaphytus is a genus of lizards, commonly known as collared lizards, in the family Crotaphytidae. Member species are small to medium-sized predators indigenous to the American southwest, Baja peninsula, and Mexico. Including the tail, they can be as small as 7 in (18 cm) or as long as 14 in (36 cm), and are characterized by distinct bands of black or brown around the neck, to which their common names refer.
| Crotaphytus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Crotaphytus collaris | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Crotaphytidae |
| Genus: | Crotaphytus Holbrook, 1842 |
Species edit
The following species and subspecies are recognized as being valid.[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Crotaphytus antiquus Axtell & Webb, 1995 | venerable collared lizard | Sierra San Lorenzo, Sierra Texas, and Sierra Solis in extreme southwestern Coahuila state, Mexico |
 |
Crotaphytus bicinctores N.M. Smith & W.W. Tanner, 1972 | Great Basin collared lizard or desert collared lizard | Western United States |
 |
Crotaphytus collaris (Say, 1823) | common collared lizard | Mexico and the south-central United States (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) |
| Crotaphytus dickersonae K.P. Schmidt, 1922 | Sonoran collared lizard | Mexico | |
| Crotaphytus grismeri McGuire, 1994 | Grismer's collared lizard | Baja California, Mexico | |
| Crotaphytus insularis Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921 | eastern collared lizard | Mexico | |
 |
Crotaphytus nebrius Axtell & Montanucci, 1977 | Sonoran collared lizard | U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora |
 |
Crotaphytus reticulatus Baird, 1858 | reticulated collared lizard | US state of Texas, Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas) |
 |
Crotaphytus vestigium N.M. Smith & W.W. Tanner, 1972 | Baja California collared lizard | California (United States) and Baja California (Mexico) |
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Crotaphytus.
Symbol edit
In 1969, Oklahoma designated its first state reptile when it chose the collared lizard.[2]
References edit
- Citations
- ^ Genus Crotaphytus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Shearer 1994, p. 309
- Bibliography
- Holbrook JE (1842). North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. II. (Second edition). Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 142 pp. (Crotaphytus, new genus, p. 79).
- Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (1994). State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols (2nd ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-28862-3.
External links edit
- Photos of genus members