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Sauromalus varius DICKERSON, 1919

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Higher TaxaIguanidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Piebald Chuckwalla
G: St. Esteban-Chuckwalla
S: Iguana de Pared Piebald 
SynonymSauromalus varius DICKERSON 1919
Sauromalus varius — LINER 1994
Sauromalus varius — HOLLINGSWORTH 1998: 159
Sauromalus varius — KÖHLER & ZORN 2014
Sauromalus varius — SUMARLI et al. 2023
Sauromalus varius — HEIMES 2022 
DistributionMexico (Gulf of California: San Esteban, Roca Lobos, Pelicano [Sonora])

Type locality: "San Esteban Island, Gulf of California, Mexico."  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 64441 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Size very large, sometimes exceeding 600 mm.; nuchal scales
somewhat enlarged medially, smaller than largest head scales and preauricular scales, with only faint tendency to formation of spines posteriorly; postauricular scales small; dorsal scales smooth, median subquadrangular, lateral with tendency to formation of posterior spine; dorsals small, larger in mid-dorsal region especially anteriorly, rows in head length near median line 28, 15 mm. distant from median line, 37; number of ventral scale rows from gular fold to anus, 143 (average in 15 specimens); scales around thickest part of tail, 72 (average in 15 specimens); femoral pores not variable, averaging 17. General color light yellowish to light reddish brown, with irregular blotching and mottling of dark over all dorsal and lateral surfaces, giving a piebald appearance (Dickerson 1919: 464). 
Comment 
EtymologyThe specific name varius comes from the Latin root vari which means "different" or "changing" and presumably refers to the distinct dorsal color pattern of this lizard. 
References
  • Alberts, A.C.; Carter, R.L.; Hayes, W.K. & Martins, E.P. (eds.) 2004. Iguanas - Biology and Conservation. University of California Press, 356 pp. - get paper here
  • Avery, D. F.; Tanner, W. W. 1971. Evolution of the iguanine lizards (Sauria, Iguanidae) as determined by osteological and myological characters. Brigham Young University Science Bulletin 12 (3): 1-79
  • Bastic, Dennis L. 1971. Observations on the Tumor-like Growths in the Chuckwalla, Sauromalus varius. Journal of Herpetology 5 (1-2):76-78 - get paper here
  • Beaman,K.R.; Hollingsworth,B.D.; Lawler, H.E. & Lowe,C.H. 1997. Bibliography of Sauromalus (Duméril 1856), the Chuckwallas. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (116): 1-44 - get paper here
  • Buckley, Larry J.; Kevin de Queiroz, Tandora D. Grant, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, John B. Iverson (Chair, <br>Stesha A. Pasachnik, and Catherine L. Stephen (Iguana Taxonomy Working Group, ITWG 2016. A Checklist of the Iguanas of the World (Iguanidae; Iguaninae). Herp. Cons. Biol. 11 (Monograph 6) - get paper here
  • de Queiroz K 1995. Checklist and key to the extant species of Mexican iguanas (Reptilia: Iguaninae). Publ. Esp. Mus. Zool. Univ. Nac. Autón. México 9: 1-48
  • Dickerson, M. C. 1919. Diagnoses of twenty-three new species and a new genus of lizards from Lower California. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 41 (10): 461-477 - get paper here
  • Enderson, Erik F.; Adrian Quijada-Mascareñas; Dale S. Turner; Philip C. Rosen & Robert L. Bezy 2009. The herpetofauna of Sonora, Mexico, with comparisons to adjoining states. Check List 5 (3): 632–672 - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2022. LIZARDS OF MEXICO - Part 1 Iguanian lizards. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt Am Main, 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Hollingsworth, B. D. 1998. The systematics of Chuckwallas (Sauromalus) with a phylogenetic analysis of other iguanid lizards. Herpetological Monographs 12: 38-191. - get paper here
  • Hollingsworth, B. D. et al. 1997. The occurrence of Sauromalus varius on a satellite islet of Isla Salsipuedes, Gulf of California, Mexico. Herpetological Review 28 (1): 26-28 [erratum in HR 28 (2): 112] - get paper here
  • Jones, L.L. & Lovich, R.E. 2009. Lizards of the American Southwest. A photographic field guide. Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, AZ, 568 pp. [review in Reptilia 86: 84] - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. & Zorn, H. 2014. Chuckwallas. Herpeton-Verlag, 120 pp. [review in Reptilia 23 (132): 62] - get paper here
  • Lawler H E. Beaman K R. Grismer L L. 1995. Sauromalus varius. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (616): 1-4. - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Rorabaugh JC 2019. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sonora, Mexico, with updated species lists. ZooKeys 829: 131-160 - get paper here
  • McAliley, L.R. et al. 2006. Eight microsatellite markers for the San Esteban chuckwalla, Sauromalus varius. Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 759–761 - get paper here
  • Peralta-García A, Valdez-Villavicencio JH, Fucsko LA, Hollingsworth BD, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, Rocha A, DeSantis DL, Porras LW, and Wilson LD. 2023. The herpetofauna of the Baja California Peninsula and its adjacent islands, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 17(1&2): 57–142
  • Sumarli, A., Hollingsworth, B. D., Valdez–Villavicencio, J. H., & Reeder, T. W. 2023. Phylogenomic data reveal cryptic diversity and deep phylogeographical structure within the common chuckwalla, Sauromalus ater (Squamata: Iguanidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blad104 - get paper here
  • Sylber, C.K. 1988. Feeding Habits of the Lizard Sauromalus varius and S. hispidus in the Gulf of California Journal of Herpetology 22 (4): 413-424. - get paper here
  • Zimmerman, Linda C.; andC. Richard Tracy 1989. Interactions between the Environment and Ectothermy and Herbivory in Reptiles. Physiological Zoology, 62(2): 374–409 - get paper here
 
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