Urosaurus microscutatus (VAN DENBURGH, 1894)

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Higher Taxa	Phrynosomatidae, Sceloporinae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Small-scaled Lizard
Synonym	Uta microscutata VAN DENBURGH 1894: 298 Urosaurus microscutatus — MITTLEMAN 1942: 159 Urosaurus microscutatus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 145 Urosaurus microscutatus — BOSTIC 1971 Urosaurus microscutatus — RAU 1977 Urosaurus microscutatus — STEBBINS 1985: 137 Urosaurus microscutatus — LINER 1994 Urosaurus microscutatus — HANSEN & SHEDD 2024: 163
Distribution	USA (S California), Mexico (Baja California, Islands of San Francisco, San José, Danzante, Coronado, Carmen, San Marcos, Santa Magdalena). Type locality: San Pedro Mártir Mountains, Baja California.
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: CAS-SUR 1221 (Stanford Univ. Mus. 1221)
Diagnosis
Comment	Synonymy: Urosaurus nigricaudus and U. microscutatus differ consistently in male throat coloration (usually blue in microscutatus, orange to gray in nigricaudus) and other characters. However, L.L. Grismer (cited in Wiens 1993) has observed specimens that are morphologically intermediate between these two “species”. Aguirre et al. (1999) suggest to synonymize U. microscutatus with Urosaurus nigricaudus lahtelai based on genetic evidence. GRISMER (1999) also synonymized the two species based on morphological intermediates. Feldman et al. (2011) confirm the uncertain status of U. microscutatus but express concern “that U. microscutatus is being dismissed prematurely”, hence they treat it as different in their tree and range map. Distribution: see map in Feldman et al. 2011. Genome: Davalos-Dehullu et al. 2023.
Etymology	Named after the Greek micros (= small) and Latin scutatus, armed with a shield or scale, for the small dorsal scales in this species.
References	Aguirre L., Gustavo, David J. Morafka and Robert W. Murphy. 1999. The peninsular archipelago of Baja California: a thousand kilometers of tree lizard genetics. Herpetologica 55 (3): 369-381 - get paper here Bostic, D. L. 1971. Herpetofauna of the Pacific Coast of north central Baja California, Mexico, with a description of a new subspecies of Phyllodactylus xanti. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, 16:237—263 - get paper here Feldman, Chris R.; Oscar Flores-Villela, Theodore J. Papenfuss 2011. Phylogeny, biogeography, and display evolution in the tree and brush lizard genus Urosaurus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61 (3): 714-725 - get paper here Hansen, Robert and Jackson D. Shedd 2025. California Amphibians and Reptiles. Princeton University Press, 528 pp. - get paper here Mittleman,M.B. 1942. A summary of the iguanid genus Urosaurus. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 91: 105-181 - get paper here Rau,C.S. & Loomis,R.B. 1977. A new species of Urosaurus (Reptilia, Lacertilia, Iguanidae) from Baja California, Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 11 (1): 25-29 - get paper here Smith, H.M. & Taylor,E.H. 1950. An annotated checklist and key to the reptiles of Mexico exclusive of the snakes. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 199: 1-253 - get paper here Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston Van Denburgh,J. 1894. Descriptions of three new lizards from California and ower California, with a note on Phrynonsoma blainvillii. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (Ser. 2), 4: 296-301 - get paper here Wiens, J.J. 1993. Phylogenetic systematics of the tree lizards (genus Urosaurus). Herpetologica 49 (4): 399-420 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/pages/u.nigricaudus.html http://wildherps.com/species/U.nigricaudus.html#4/27/2009 http://blackbook.org/~sullivan/indexes/sciIndexS-Z.html [microscutatus] http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/jd/jdweb/Herps/species/Forlizards/Uromic.htm Google images

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