Sceloporus bimaculosus
(Phelan and Brattstrom, 1955)
Chihuahuan Desert Spiny Lizard
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1167736
Element CodeARACF14220
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyPhrynosomatidae
GenusSceloporus
SynonymsSceloporus magister bimaculosusPhelan and Brattstrom, 1955
Other Common NamesTwin-spotted Spiny Lizard (EN)
Concept ReferenceCrother, 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]
Taxonomic CommentsNicholson (2025) continues to recognize the Chihuahuan Desert lineage as a separate species, S. bimaculosus. Pavón-Vázquez et al. (2024) inferred three lineages within the part of the Sceloporus magister complex that occurs north of Mexico: one in the Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Colorado Plateau, a second in the Sonoran Desert, and a third in the Chihuahuan Desert. Their results indicated both earlier divergence and less gene flow between the Chihuahuan Desert lineage and the other two lineages than between those two lineages. Previously, Sceloporus magister bimaculosus was elevated to full species by Schulte et al. (2006) but returned to the synonymy of S. magister by Leaché and Mulcahy (2007). See also Lazcano et al. (2019).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2013-07-04
Change Date2013-07-04
Edition Date2013-07-10
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Range Extent CommentsRange has not been precisely circumscribed but (based on Fig. 2 in Leaché and Mulcahy 2007) includes central and much of southern New Mexico, adjacent north central Mexico, Texas, and southeastern Arizona, (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Schulte et al. 2006, Leaché and Mulcahy 2007).
Occurrences CommentsThis species is represented by a fairly large number of occurrences (subpopulations) and locations (as defined by IUCN).
Ecology & Habitat
Habitat
In much of New Mexico, these lizards are mostly terrestrial and closely associated with dense stands of mesquite, creosotebush, or tarbush along arroyos or playa edges (Degenhardt et al. 1996).
Terrestrial HabitatsDesert
Palustrine HabitatsRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|
| New Mexico | SNR | Yes |
| Texas | SNR | Yes |
| Arizona | SNR | Yes |
References (10)
- 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
- 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.
- 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]
- Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Quieroz, D. Frost, D. M. Green, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, R. W. McDiarmid, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: update. Herpetological Review 34:198-203.
- Degenhardt, W. G., C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price. 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. xix + 431 pp.
- Lazcano, D., M. Neva´rez-de los Reyes, E. Garci´a-Padilla, J. D. Johnson, V. Mata-Silva, D. L. DeSantis, and L. D. Wilson. 2019. The herpetofauna of Coahuila, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2):31-94.
- Leaché, A. D., and D. G. Mulcahy. 2007. Phylogeny, divergence times and species limits of spiny lizards (<i>Sceloporus magister</i> species group) in western North American deserts and Baja California. Molecular Ecology 16:5216-5233.
- 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
- Pavón-Vázquez, C. J., Q. Rana, K. Farleigh, E. Crispo, M. Zeng, J. Liliah, D. Mulcahy, A. Ascanio, T. Jezkova, A. D Leaché, T. Flouri, Z. Yang, and C. Blair. 2024. Gene flow and isolation in the arid Nearctic revealed by genomic analyses of Desert Spiny Lizards. Systematic Biology 73(2):323-342.
- Schulte II, J.A., R. Macey, and T.J. Papenfuss. 2006. A genetic perspective on the geographic association of taxa among arid North American lizards of <i>the Sceloporus magister</i> complex (Squamata: Iguanidae: Phrynosomatinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39:873-880.