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Sceloporus magister HALLOWELL, 1854

IUCN Red List - Sceloporus magister - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaPhrynosomatidae, Sceloporinae; Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesSceloporus magister cephaloflavus TANNER 1955
Sceloporus magister magister HALLOWELL 1854
Sceloporus magister montserratensis VAN DENBURGH & SLEVIN 1921
Sceloporus magister transversus PHELAN & BRATTSTROM 1955 
Common NamesE: Desert Spiny Lizard
E: Orange-headed Spiny Lizard [cephaloflavus]
E: Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard [bimaculosus]
S: Cachora [bimaculosus]
E: Purple-backed Spiny Lizard [magister]
E: Barred Spiny Lizard [transversus]
G: Wüsten-Stachelleguan
S: Lagartija del Desierto 
SynonymSceloporus magister HALLOWELL 1854: 93
Sceloporus spinosus magister — BOULENGER 1897: 492
Sceloporus magister magister — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 114
Sceloporus magister — STEBBINS 1985: 127
Sceloporus magister — LINER 1994
Sceloporus magister — SCHULTE et al. 2006
Sceloporus magister — WERNING 2012

Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus TANNER 1955
Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus — STEBBINS 1985: 128
Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus — CROTHER 2000
Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus — BELL et al. 2003

Sceloporus magister montserratensis VAN DENBURGH & SLEVIN 1921
Sceloporus montserratensis VAN DENBURGH & SLEVIN 1921: 396
Sceloporus magister montserratensis — ZWEIFEL 1958

Sceloporus magister transversus PHELAN & BRATTSTROM 1955
Sceloporus magister transversus — CROTHER 2000 
DistributionUSA (SE California, Nevada, S Utah, Arizona, New Mexico),
Mexico (Baja California, Sonora, NW Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa)

cephaloflavus: USA (Utah). Type Locality: Bentley's Cabin, approximately 15 mi NW Hole-in-the-Rock, Kaiparowits Plateau, Kane County, Utah.

magister: USA (Arizona); Type locality: Fort Yuma, Arizona, restricted to Yuma, Yuma, Arizona, by Smith and Taylor (1950)].

montserratensis: Mexico (Baja California: Monserrate Island); Type locality: Monserrate Island, Gulf of California

transversus: USA (California); Type Locality: Keough's Hot Springs, 7 mi. S Bishop, Inyo County, California.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 2967
Holotype: CAS 91199 [bimaculosus]
Holotype: CAS 91200 [transversus]
Holotype: BYU 11270, collected 16 July 1953 by D. E. Beck [cephaloflavus]
Holotype: CAS 50509 [montserratensis] 
Diagnosis 
CommentSimilar species: Historically, this species has been confused with S. clarkii (STEJNEGER 1893).

Subspecies: Sceloporus magister bimaculosus PHELAN & BRATTSTROM 1955 and S. m. uniformis have been elevated to full species. S. m. transversus is neither listed nor discussed by BOUNDY et al. 2012. Leaché and Mulcahy (2007) found that specimens from closer to the type locality of S. m. cephaloflavus were part of S. uniformis rather than S. magister; consequently, BOUNDY et al. 2012 have not recognized subspecies within S. magister.

Distribution: not in Coahuila where it is represented by S. m. bimaculosus, now a valid species; see map in Jones & Lovich 2009: 226, Parker 1982. Not in Durango fide Lemos-Espinal (2018). 
EtymologyEtymology (magister): The Latin magister, "master," or "chief," refers to the large size of this species.

Etymology [cephaloflavus]: The Greek noun kephale, "head," and the Latin noun flavus, "yellow," together refer to the yellow or orange dorsal head scales.

Etymology (transversus): The Latin noun transversus, "crosswise," refers to the 6 or 7 conspicuous dark crossbars on the dorsum. 
References
  • Axtell, Ralph W. 1939. AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE BLACK GAP WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, BREWSTER COUNTY, TEXAS. Southwestern Naturalist 4 (2): 88-109
  • Bell, E.L.; Smith, H.M. & Chiszar, D. 2003. AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE SPECIES-GROUP NAMES APPLIED TO THE LIZARD GENUS SCELOPORUS. Acta Zoologica Mexicana (n.s.) 90: 103-174 - get paper here
  • Bezy, R.L. 2003. Desert Spiny Lizard Sceloporus magister. Herpetofauna of the 100 Mile Circle. Sonoran Herpetologist 16 (9):78-79. - get paper here
  • Bezy, Robert L. and Charles J. Cole 2014. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Madrean Archipelago of Arizona and New Mexico. American Museum Novitates (3810): 1-24 - get paper here
  • Burré, G. 2002. Begegnungen mit Iguaniden im Südwesten der USA. Iguana Rundschreiben 15 (2): 13-21
  • Burt, Charles E. 1933. Some lizards from the Great Basin of the West and adjacent areas, with comments on the status of various forms. American Midland Naturalist 14: 228-250 - get paper here
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
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  • Eaton, Theodore H., Jr 1935. Report on amphibians and reptiles of the Navajo country. Bulletin 3. Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition : 1-20 - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S. 1978. Sexual size differences in the genus Sceloporus. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 51 (13): 441-461 - get paper here
  • FLESCH, AARON D.; DON E. SWANN, DALE S. TURNER, AND BRIAN F. POWELL 2010. HERPETOFAUNA OF THE RINCON MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA. Southwestern Naturalist 55(2):240–253 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. L. & J. A. MCGUIRE 1996. Taxonomy and biogeography of the Sceloporus magister complex (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) in Baja California, México. Herpetologica 52 (3): 416-427. - get paper here
  • Hallowell,E. 1854. Description of new reptiles from California. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 7 [1854]: 91-97 - get paper here
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  • Lazcano D, Nevárez-de los Reyes M, García-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, DeSantis DL, Wilson LD. 2019. The herpetofauna of Coahuila, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [General Section]: 31–94 (e189) - get paper here
  • Leaché, A.D. 2010. Species trees for spiny lizards (Genus Sceloporus): Identifying points of concordance and conflict between nuclear and mitochondrial data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54: 162–171 - get paper here
  • Leaché, A.D. & J.W.Sites, Jr. 2009. Chromosome Evolution and Diversification in North American Spiny Lizards (Genus Sceloporus). Cytogenet Genome Res 127: 166-181 - get paper here
  • Leaché, A.D. & Mulcahy, D.G. 2007. Phylogeny, divergence times and species limits of spiny lizards (Sceloporus magister species group) in western North American deserts and Baja California. Molecular Ecology 16: 5216–5233 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR 2020. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico with a conservation status summary and comparisons with neighboring states. ZooKeys 931: 85-114 - 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
  • Lemos-Espinal, J.A. & Smith, H.M. 2007. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Coahuila, Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 550 pp.
  • Love, B. 2019. Western Herp Perspectives: Gartenfauna in Arizona. Reptilia (Münster) 24 (138): 58-59 - get paper here
  • Miller, K.L. 2017. Geographic Distribution: Sceloporus magister (Desert Spiny Lizard). Herpetological Review 48 (3): 589. - get paper here
  • Moll, E.O., and D. Koenig. 2003. Sceloporus magister at Tohono Chul Park: Diet, Cannibalism, and Predation. Sonoran Herpetologist 16 (10):90-91. - get paper here
  • Nevárez-de los Reyes; Manuel, David Lazcano, Javier Banda-Leal and Ian Recchio 2014. Notes on Mexican Herpetofauna 22: Herpetofauna of the Continental Portion of the Municipality of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 49(8):105-115 - get paper here
  • Parker W S 1982. Sceloporus magister Hallowell. Desert spiny lizard. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (290): 1-4 - get paper here
  • Parker, W. S.;Pianka, E. R. 1973. Notes on the ecology of the Iguanid lizard, Sceloporus magister. Herpetologica 29 (2): 143-152 - get paper here
  • Phelan, Robert L.;Brattstrom, Baynard H. 1955. Geographic variation in Sceloporus magister. Herpetologica 11 (1): 1-14 - get paper here
  • Scheler, B. 2011. Haltung und Nachzucht des Wüsten-Stachelleguans, Sceloporus magister. Iguana Rundschreiben 23 (2): 5-12
  • Schulte II, James A.; J. Robert Macey and Theodore J. Papenfuss 2006. A genetic perspective on the geographic association of taxa among arid North American lizards of the Sceloporus magister complex (Squamata: Iguanidae: Phrynosomatinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (3): 873-880 - get paper here
  • Smith, H. M. 1939. The Mexican and Central American lizards of the genus Sceloporus. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser. 26: 1-397. - get paper here
  • Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
  • Stejneger, L.H. 1893. Annotated list of the reptiles and batrachians collected by the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, with descriptions of new species. North American Fauna, No. 7: 159-228 (+ 14 plates + 4 maps) - get paper here
  • Tanner, Vasco M.;Hayward, C. Lynn 1934. A biological study of the La Sal Mountains, Utah report No. 1 (Ecology). Proceedings of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters 11: 209-235
  • Tanner, W. W.;Krogh, J. E. 1973. Ecology of Sceloporus magister at the Nevada test site, Nye County, Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist 33 (3): 133-146 - get paper here
  • Tanner, Wilmer W. 1955. A new Sceloporus magister from eastern Utah. Great Basin Naturalist. 15: 32-34 - get paper here
  • Taylor, Edward Harrison 1938. Notes on the herpetological fauna of the Mexican state of Sonora. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 24 (19): 475-503 [1936] - get paper here
  • Taylor, Harry L.;Hollard, Richard L.;Humphrey, Rosanna L.;Smith, Hobart M. 1996. Geographic Distribution. Sceloporus magister cephaloflavus. Herpetological Review 27 (2): 87-88 - get paper here
  • Tevis, lloyd, Jr. 1944. Herpetological notes from lower California. Copeia 1944 (1): 6-18 - get paper here
  • Tinkle, D. W. 1976. Comparative data on the population ecology of the desesrt spiny lizard, Sceloporus magister. Herpetologica 32 (1): 1-6 - get paper here
  • Turner, Frederick B.;Wauer, Roland H. 1963. A survey of the herpetofauna of the Death Valley area. Great Basin Naturalist 23 (3-4): 119-128 - get paper here
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  • Van Denburgh,J. and Slevin,J.R. 1921. A list of the amphibians and reptiles of Nevada, with notes on the species in the collection of the academy. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (4) 11 (2): 27-38 - get paper here
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