Peninsular chuckwalla
| Peninsular chuckwalla[1] | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Iguanidae |
| Genus: | Sauromalus |
| Species: | S. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sauromalus australis Shaw, 1945[2] | |
The peninsular chuckwalla (Sauromalus australis) is a lizard belonging to the family Iguanidae. It is in the same genus as the other chuckwalla species. S. australis inhabits southeastern Baja California and eastern Baja California Sur in Mexico.[3]
Taxonomy and etymology
The generic name, Sauromalus, is a combination of two Ancient Greek words:σαῦρος (sauros) meaning "lizard", and ομαλυς (omalus) meaning "flat".[4] Its specific name is derived from the Latin australis, meaning "southern wind", as it inhabits the southern portion of the Baja peninsula.[5] The common name "chuckwalla" derives from the Shoshone word tcaxxwal or Cahuilla caxwal, transcribed by Spaniards as chacahuala.[4]
The species was first described by herpetologist Charles E. Shaw in 1945.[2]
Description
Peninsular chuckwallas are stocky, wide-bodied lizards with flattened midsections and prominent bellies.[2] Their tails are thick, tapering to a blunt tip. Loose folds of skin characterize their necks and sides of their bodies, which are covered in small, coarsely moderately keeled scales. Their base color is tan to yellow with darker brown or black transverse bands, the centers of which are speckled with the lighter ground color, giving a double striped look from a distance.[2]
Males are generally larger than females and possess well-developed femoral pores located on the inner sides of their thighs; these pores produce secretions believed to play a role in marking territory.
References
- ↑ "Sauromalus australis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 Shaw, Charles E (1945). "The chuckwallas, Genus Sauromalus". Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 10 (=15): 269–306.
- ↑ Bartlett, R.D.; Patricia Bartlett (2003). Iguanas: Everything about Selection, Care, Nutrition, Diseases, Breeding, and Behavior (2 ed.). Barron's. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-7641-1993-4.
- 1 2 Schwenkmeyer, Dick. "Sauromalus ater Common Chuckwalla". Field Guide. San Diego Natural History Museum. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
- ↑ Hollingsworth, Bradford D. (2004). The Evolution of Iguanas an Overview and a Checklist of Species. Iguanas: Biology and Conservation. University of California Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-520-23854-1.