Sceloporus magister
Sceloporus magister, also known as the desert spiny lizard, is a lizard species of the family Phrynosomatidae, native to the Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert of North America.
The Desert spiny lizard belongs to a family of lizards adapted to life in hot deserts. Adult males of this species usually have conspicuous blue/violet patches on the belly and throat and a green/blue color on their tails and sides. Females and juveniles have large combined dark spots on their back and belly areas, and the blue/violet and green/blue coloring is absent. Both sexes have brownish/yellow triangular spots on their shoulders. Besides their bright colors, Desert spiny lizards change to darker colors during the winter to allow them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during the summer to reflect the sun's radiation.
Desert spiny lizards are native to the Chihuahuan Desert and the Sonoran Desert of North America. In the United States, they are found in the states of Arizona, California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. They also occur in the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango. These lizards inhabit Sonoran desert scrub, Great Basin desert scrub, semidesert grassland, chaparral, and woodlands. They are usually found on lower slopes, bajadas, plains, and low valleys, often in the branches of trees or in the vicinity of ground cover such as wood piles, rock piles, and pack rat nests.
Desert spiny lizards are primarily arboreal and diurnal creatures. They are solitary and prefer to be on their own. Usually, during the morning hours, they will be out basking in the sun on rocks or any hard surface that is in direct sunlight; however, like many desert reptiles, they will seek shelter, usually underground in burrows or any suitable cover that provides shade, during the hottest part of the day in the summertime. They hibernate in late fall and during the cold months of winter before re-emerging in spring. Desert spiny lizards frequently do push-ups, pushing their body up and down, as a form of territorial display. They also use camouflage so they are not so easily seen by predators.
Desert spiny lizards are carnivores (insectivores). They feed on a variety of insects including ants, beetles, and caterpillars, spiders, centipedes, and will also hunt small lizards.
Desert spiny lizards breed in spring and summer. Females lay anywhere from 4 to 24 eggs in soil or underground.
Desert spiny lizards don’t face any major threats at present.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Desert spiny lizard total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
