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Home/Species/ Madrean Mountain Spiny Lizard

Sceloporus jarrovii

Cope, 1875

Madrean Mountain Spiny Lizard

G5Secure Found in 13 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101848
Element CodeARACF14050
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyPhrynosomatidae
GenusSceloporus
Synonyms
Sceloporus jarroviCope, 1875
Other Common Names
Yarrow's Spiny Lizard (EN)
Concept Reference
Sites, J. W., Jr., J.W. Archie, C.J. Cole and O. Flores-Villela. 1992. A review of phylogenetic hypotheses for lizards of the genus Sceleporus (Phrynosomatidae): implications for ecological and evolutionary studies. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (213):1-110.
Taxonomic Comments
Wiens et al. (2019) found pronounced phylogeographic structure and relatively old divergences among S. jarrovii populations in the Madrean Sky Islands of southeastern Arizona. Nicholson (2025) has reverted to the standard English name “Mountain Spiny Lizard” adopted in the 5th edition of this list (Crother et al. 2000), a name also used by McGinnis and Stebbins (2018), and added “Madrean” to make it more specific.
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-07-20
Change Date2002-04-12
Edition Date2005-07-20
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
Southeastern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico south into Mexico, south to Durango and Zacatecas according to the systematic arrangement of Wiens and Penkrot (2002). Elevational range is about 4,500-11,600 feet (1,370-3,550 meters) (Stebbins 2003). At the northern end of the range, this lizard occurs on major mountain ranges and certain minor mountain ranges (e.g., Winchester Mountains, Galiuro Mountains) (see Rosen and Persons 2002).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by many collecion sites.
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats have been identified.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This is a montane species, attracted to rocky canyons, cliffs, and hillsides, including areas of oak woodland, thornscrub, and mixed oak and pine (Stebbins 2003). Typically it occurs on rocky outcrops, sometimes climbs trees.

Ecology

Aggregates in winter. On Mt. Graham, southeastern Arizona, a high-density population comprised 41 adults and juveniles (not including hatchlings) in a rock area of 495 sq m (Beuchat 1989). In southeastern Arizona, August home range size of adults averaged about 90-320 sq m, with the highest value in males at high elevations, and the lowest value in females at low elevations; female home ranges overlapped each other more so than did male home ranges; the ranges of multiple females overlapped with those of single males; the home ranges of juveniles were much smaller than those of adults (Ruby and Baird, 1994, J. Herpetol. 28:70-78).

Annual survival generally is 50% at most, often about 15-30%; populations may be reduced during periods of drought (Smith and Ballinger 1994).

Reproduction

In Arizona, mates September-October, gives birth in May-June at lower elevations, late June at 5000-7000 ft; litter size, which increases with female size, averages 7-11 (Goldberg 1971, Ruby and Dunham 1984, Beuchat 1989). Litter size averages 7 in north-central Mexico, with neonates observed in May (Ramirez-Bautista et al. 2002). May mature in 5 months at low elevations, 15 months at high elevations. Growth rate appears to be slowed when food resources are low (Smith and Ballinger, Copeia 1994:1007-1013).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedBare rock/talus/screeCliff
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ArizonaS3Yes
New MexicoS3Yes
Roadless Areas (13)
Arizona (12)
AreaForestAcres
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
Lower Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest1,165
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Upper Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest2,533
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
References (19)
  1. Ballinger, R. E. 1973. Comparative demography of two viviparous iguanid lizards (<i>Sceloporus jarrovi</i> and <i>Sceloporus poinsettii</i>). Ecology 54:269-283.
  2. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  3. Beuchat, C. A. 1989. Patterns and frequency of activity in a high altitude population of the iguanid lizard, <i>Sceloporus jarrovi</i>. J. Herpetol. 23:152-158.
  4. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  5. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  6. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  7. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  8. Goldberg, S. R. 1971. Reproductive cycle of the ovoviviparous iguanid lizard <i>Sceloporus jarrovi</i> Cope. Herpetologica 27:123-131.
  9. Nicholson, K. E. (ed.). 2025. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Ninth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 87 pp. Online database available at: https://cnah.org/SSARnames.aspx
  10. Ramirez-Bautista, A., O. Ramos-Flores, and J. W. Sites, Jr. 2002. Reproductive cycle of the spiny lizard Sceloporus jarrovii (Sauria: Phrynosomatidae) from north-central Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 36:225-233.
  11. Rosen, P. C., and T. B. Persons. 2002. Geographic distribution: <i>Sceloporus jarrovii</i>. Herpetological Review 33:322-323.
  12. Ruby, D. E., and A. E. Dunham. 1984. A population analysisof the ovoviviparous lizard <i>Sceloporus jarrovi</i> in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Herpetologica 41:425-436.
  13. Sites, J. W., Jr., J.W. Archie, C.J. Cole and O. Flores-Villela. 1992. A review of phylogenetic hypotheses for lizards of the genus <i>Sceleporus</i> (Phrynosomatidae): implications for ecological and evolutionary studies. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (213):1-110.
  14. Smith, G. R., and R. E. Ballinger. 1994. Survivorship in a high-elevation population of <i>Sceloporus jarrovi</i> during a period of drought. Copeia 1994:1040-1042.
  15. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  16. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  17. Wiens, J. J., A. Camacho, A. Goldberg, T. Jezkova, M. E. Kaplan, S. M. Lambert, E. C. Miller, J. W. Streicher, and R. L. Walls. 2019. Climate change, extinction, and Sky Island biogeography in a montane lizard. Molecular Ecology 28(10):2610-2624.
  18. Wiens, J. J., and T. A. Penkrot. 2002. Delimiting species using DNA and morphological variation and discordant species limits in spiny lizards (<i>Sceloporus</i>). Systematic Biology 51:69-91.
  19. Wiens, J. J., T. W. Reeder, and A. N. Montes De Oca. 1999. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of sexual dichromatism among populations of the Yarrow's spiny lizard (<i>Sceloporus jarrovii</i>). Evolution 53:1884-1897.