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Urosaurus ornatus (BAIRD & GIRARD, 1852)

IUCN Red List - Urosaurus ornatus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaPhrynosomatidae, Sceloporinae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesUrosaurus ornatus ornatus (BAIRD & GIRARD 1852)
Urosaurus ornatus caeruleus (SMITH 1935)
Urosaurus ornatus chiricahuae (MITTLEMAN 1941)
Urosaurus ornatus lateralis (BOULENGER 1883)
Urosaurus ornatus levis (STEJNEGER 1890)
Urosaurus ornatus linearis (BAIRD 1859)
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti (MITTLEMAN 1940)
Urosaurus ornatus schottii (BAIRD 1859)
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus (BAIRD 1859)
Urosaurus ornatus wrighti (SCHMIDT 1921) 
Common NamesE: Tree Lizard
levis: Smooth Tree Lizard
schmidti: Big Bend Tree Lizard
schottii: Schott’s Tree Lizard
symmetricus: Colorado River Tree Lizard
S: Roñito Ornado 
SynonymUta ornata BAIRD & GIRARD 1852
Uta ornata — BOULENGER 1885: 213
Uta ornata — COPE 1900: 315
Uta ornata ornata — SCHMIDT 1921
Uta ornata ornata — SMITH 1935: 178
Urosaurus ornatus ornatus – MITTLEMAN 1942: 133
Urosaurus ornatus ornatus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 142
Uta ornata — BRADLEY & DEACON 1966
Urosaurus ornatus — STEBBINS 1985: 136
Urosaurus ornatus — LINER 1994
Urosaurus ornatus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 111
Urosaurus ornatus — CROTHER et al. 2012
Urosaurus ornatus — HEIMES 2022

Urosaurus ornatus caeruleus (SMITH 1935)
Uta caerulea SMITH 1935: 172
Urosaurus ornatus caeruleus – MITTLEMAN 1942: 136
Urosaurus ornatus caeruleus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 143
Urosaurus ornatus caeruleus — TANNER 1987

Urosaurus ornatus chiricahuae (MITTLEMAN 1941)
Uta ornata chiricahuae MITTLEMAN 1941: 165
Urosaurus ornatus chiricahuae — SMITH 1946

Urosaurus ornatus lateralis (BOULENGER 1883)
Uta lateralis BOULENGER 1883
Uta ornata lateralis — VAN DENBURGH 1922
Uta ornata lateralis — SMITH 1935: 179
Uta ornata lateralis — TAYLOR 1938: 483
Urosaurus ornatus lateralis — LEWIS 1956
Urosaurus ornatus lateralis — HARDY 1969: 140

Urosaurus ornatus levis (STEJNEGER 1890)
Uta levis STEJNEGER 1890: 108
Uta levis — COPE 1900: 317
Uta levis — BURT 1933
Uta levis — KNOWLTON & JANES 1934
Urosaurus ornatus levis — MITTLEMAN 1942
Urosaurus ornatus levis — SMITH 1946
Urosaurus ornatus levis— CROTHER 2000: 55
Urosaurus ornatus levis — CROTHER et al. 2012

Urosaurus ornatus schmidti (MITTLEMAN 1941)
Uta ornata schmidti MITTLEMAN 1941: 33
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — MITTLEMAN 1942
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — SMITH 1946
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — JAMESON & FLURY 1949
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 143
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — TANNER 1987
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 111
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — BARTLETT & BARTLETT 1999: 236
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — CROTHER 2000: 55
Urosaurus ornatus schmidti — CROTHER et al. 2012

Urosaurus ornatus schottii (BAIRD 1859)
Uta schottii BAIRD 1859: 253
Uta ornata var. linearis BAIRD 1859: 7
Uta (Phymatolepis) lateralis BOULENGER 1883: 342
Uta gularis CRAGIN 1884: 7
Uta lateralis — BOULENGER 1885: 214
Uta lateralis — GÜNTHER 1885: 61
Uta ornata linearis — SCHMIDT 1921: 6
Uta ornata lateralis — VAN DENBURGH 1922: 199
Uta ornata schottii — MITTLEMAN 1941: 136
Uta ornata chiricahuae MITTLEMAN 1941
Urosaurus ornatus chiricahuae — MITTLEMAN 1942
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — MITTLEMAN 1942: 149
Urosaurus ornatus linearis — MITTLEMAN 1942
Urosaurus ornatus linearis — SMITH 1946
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 144
Urosaurus ornatus linearis — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 143
Urosaurus ornatus chiricahuae — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 143
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — TANNER 1987
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — CROTHER 2000: 55
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — LEMOS-ESPINAL et al. 2004
Urosaurus ornatus schottii — CROTHER et al. 2012

Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus (BAIRD 1859)
Uta symmetrica BAIRD 1859: 253
Uta symmetrica — COPE 1880: 16
Uta symmetrica — BOULENGER 1885: 213
Uta symmetrica — COPE 1900: 318
Uta ornata symmetrica — SCHMIDT 1921: 6
Uta ornata symmetrica — GLOYD 1937
Uta ornata symmetrica — KLAUBER 1939
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — MITTLEMAN 1942: 142
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — SMITH 1946
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 144
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — ETHERIDGE 1964
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — RAU & LOOMIS 1977
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — CROTHER 2000: 55
Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus — CROTHER et al. 2012

Urosaurus ornatus wrighti (SCHMIDT 1921)
Uta wrigthi SCHMIDT 1921
Urosaurus ornatus wrighti — MITTLEMAN 1942
Urosaurus ornatus wrighti — SMITH 1946
Urosaurus ornatus wrighti — CMIWEB 2003
Urosaurus ornatus wrighti — CROTHER et al. 2012 
DistributionUSA (SE California, S Nevada, Utah, W Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, SW/C Texas),
Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, N Coahuila, Durango, Nayarit, Nuevo León ?)

ornatus: USA (C/S Texas, along the Rio Grande River), Mexico (south to N Coahuila). Type locality: Restricted to Río San Pedro [= Devils River], Val Verde County, Texas.

caeruleus: Mexico (C Chihuahua). Type locality: 30 miles north of Chihuahua City, Chihuahua.

chiricahuae: USA (Chiricahua and Dos Cabezas Mountains, Arizona). Type locality: Pinery Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, 6000 fett, Cochise County, Arizona.

lateralis: Mexico (Sinaloa); Type locality: restricted to Presidio, Sinaloa (Oliver 1943: 97)

levis: USA (New Mexico)

linearis: USA (S Arizona, S New Mexico), Mexico (southward to N Sonora and Chihuahua). Type locality: Los Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

schmidti: USA (SW Texas, New Mexico), Mexico (N Chihuahua). Type locality: Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, Texas.

schottii: Mexico (C Sonora and southward to S Sinaloa, Tres Marías Islands, Tiburón Island). Type locality: ”Sta. Madelina, Cal.-Mex. Boundary Survey” [= Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico ?]

symmetricus: USA (S California, Arizona). Mexico (W Sonora, N Baja California). Type locality: Fort Yuma, Imperial County, California.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: USNM 2750 (ornatus)
Holotype: KU 19237 (Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist.) [caeruleus]
Holotype: MVZ UC 7751 [chiricahuae]
Holotype: USNM 2759 (lost fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950). Neotype: USNM 62077 from Los Nogales, Sonora [linearis]
Holotype: USNM 32929 [schmidti]
Holotype: lost, was USNM 2761 (now lost fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950) [schottii]
Holotype: USNM 2760; now lost (fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950). Neotype: USNM 2744; original holotype: USNM 2760 lost fide SMITH & TAYLOR 1950 [symmetricus]
Holotype: AMNH 18097, male [wrighti]
Holotype: USNM 11474, male [levis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis. One or two rows of enlarged, keeled, imbricate, irregularly arranged vertebral scales, extending from a point slightly caudad of the insertions of the fore-limbs posteriorly to the basal portion of the tail on which they continue for a distance equal to less than half the length of the femur; vertebrals bordered on either side by two series of larger scales which are keeled and prominently imbricate; enlarged dorsals not regularly dispersed; scales of primary series approximately twice as large as those of the secondary series; largest of the dorsals superior in size to the enlarged femorals and tibials; other dorsal scales very small, granular, and largely pavemented, or only but slightly imbricate, except for a series on the dorsolateral line which extends from a point anterior to the axilla posteriorly to the groin; anteriorly, this series is continuous and forms a dorsolateral ridge, but posteriorly it is broken up into small clusters of slightly enlarged, tubercular scales around a central, much larger, mucronate scale; diagonally arranged clusters of tubercles absent from lateral areas; on the lateral line a few sparse clusters of barely enlarged tubercles; a fairly distinct lateral fold; -two prominent series of cervical tubercles which extend posteriorly from the ear and join the dorsolateral series of enlarged scales immediately anterior to the axilla, although rarely they do not so merge, and instead retain their individual identity; ventral to the cervical tubercles and dorsolateral tubercles is usually a third, and often a fourth series of tubercles, which are almost ventral in position; posterior surfaces of thighs and arms covered with small granules similar to those on the sides and dorsum of body, while the antero-dorsal portions of the thighs, and a band around the tibiae are covered with large, mucronate, keeled, imbricate scales; ventrals smooth, rounded to submucronate, about equal in size to the scales forming the posterior edge of the gular fold; thirteen of the largest dorsal scales equal to the length of the head from snout to posterior border of occipital; frontal transversely divided; femoral pores 10-11; enlarged postanal plates in males conspicuous; a postfemoral dermal pocket regularly present. Coloration (alcoholic) : dorsal surfaces of body and tail grayish to brown, with cross-bars of light brown which are edged with pale blue; head tan with a few pale blotches of blue or gray; limbs dorsally blue-gray with cross-bars of brown; venter of limbs and body whitish, venter of digits tan; tail mottled with light brown anteriorly, and uniformly shaded with the same posteriorly; chin and gular region mottled with blue and brown, labials a dark grayish blue which suffuses onto the lateral portions of the head; venter of limbs and tail, as well as interhumeral and interfemoral areas, heavily stippled with brown or gray; bright blue abdominal patches in males. Description from USNM 83117, male; 7 milts south of Babyhead, Llano County, Texas. Measurements of fifty adults, both sexes; head length, 11.15 mm; head width, 8.08 mm; snout to vent, 42.25 mm; hind leg, 27.60 mm (Mittleman 1942: 133).


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CommentSubspecies and synonymy after SMITH & TAYLOR 1950. Uta ornata chiricahuae MITTLEMAN 1941 has been synonymized with U. o. linearis by MURRAY 1953 while linearis has been synonymized with schotti by LANGEBARTEL & SMITH 1954. U. o. wrighti is not listed in CROTHER 2000.

Distribution: see map in Feldman et al. 2011. Not in Nuevo León fide Nevárez-de los Reyes et al. 2016 who considers the report from Nuevo León by Lemos-Espinal et al. 2017 as erroneous. 
EtymologyThe Latin ornata, -us, = decorated" or "ornamented," refers to the ornate coloration. 
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