Island Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis becki)

Created: January 28th, 2010 - 10:36 PM
Last Modified: June 18th, 2012 - 02:27 PM Entered by: Brian Hinds-AKA Fundad
Record 37239

Country: Mexico		State: Baja California (norte)	County: Ensenada	Time: 2005-04-02 11:00:00
Qty: 1	Age: Adult	Sex: --	Method: Visual encounter	Habitat: Island Scrub
Body Temperature: -----		Air Temperature: -----	Ground Temperature: -----	Humidity: 40%
Sky Conditions: Overcast		Moon Phase: -----	Elevation: 20.00ft	Barometric Pressure: -----

Notes

Found on Todos Santos Island.

Species ID Help wanted here, species NOT known...(Entered Becki to draw attention to entry)

I am not sure if this is Great Basin, or if this Island has its own species of Sceloporus, or if this is a different sub species of S. Occidentalis..

This lizard is "visually" different than the lizards found on the mainland..

Saw Several, this is only one photographed..

ALL the lizards I saw looked like this.. Extremely colorful, nothing like the mainland.

Vouchers

Comments

Posted by Brian Hinds-AKA Fundad on Feb 22, 2010 at 10:59 AM

"Thank You" Jackson, Not sure if I should change it to Great Basin or leave it as is?? I would like to draw attention to it??

Posted by Jackson Shedd on Feb 21, 2010 at 03:52 PM

Brian-

According to the literature, the S. occidentalis population on Todos Santos falls under S. o. longipes (Great Basin fence lizard as you referred to). It is interesting that some authorities recognize S. o. becki as a distinct species due to allopatry and morphology, while the Todos Santos population is also allopatric and apparently has some morphological distinctions of its own; Aside from your observations, Grismer (2002) commented on the adult males often having entirely black bellies. It might just be that the Todos Santos pop has not been given much attention.

Hope that helps,
Jackson