The Crotaphytidae, or collared lizards, are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of desert-dwelling

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephali ...

native to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. Alternatively they are recognized as a subfamily, Crotaphytinae, within the clade

Pleurodonta Pleurodonta (from Greek '' lateral teeth'', in reference to the position of the teeth on the jaw) is one of the two subdivisions of Iguania, the other being Acrodonta ('' teeth on the top f the jaw'). Pleurodonta includes all families previously ...

. They are very fast-moving animals, with long limbs and tails; some species are capable of achieving bipedal running at top speed. This species is

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other ...

, feeding mainly on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and smaller lizards. The two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

contain 12

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

Technical characters

Femoral pores Femoral pores are a part of a holocrine secretory gland found on the inside of the thighs of certain lizards and amphisbaenians which releases pheromones to attract mates or mark territory. In certain species only the male has these pores and in ...

present *Interparietal scale small (distinctly smaller than ear opening) *Never have an enlarged middorsal scale row or fringe *Never have a divided

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

*No bony spines or projecting ridges on their heads *No scales projecting over their ears, and no scales forming a prominent fringe on sides of toes as in

Phrynosomatidae The Phrynosomatidae are a diverse family of lizards, sometimes classified as a subfamily (Phrynosomatinae), found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spin ...

Species

Genus ''

Gambelia ''Gambelia'' is a genus of lizards, commonly known as leopard lizards, within the family Crotaphytidae. Leopard lizards are indigenous to arid environments of southwestern North America. Species in the genus ''Gambelia'' superficially resemb ...

'' ''Dahms Tierleben''. www.dahmstierleben.de/systematik/Reptilien/Squamata/Iguania/crotaphytidae. (leopard lizards) * Cope's leopard lizard – ''Gambelia copeii'' * blunt-nosed leopard lizard – ''Gambelia sila'' * long-nosed leopard lizard – ''Gambelia wislizenii'' Genus ''

Crotaphytus ''Crotaphytus'' is a genus of lizards commonly known as collared lizards. They are a genus of small to medium-sized predators indigenous to the American southwest, Baja peninsula, and Mexico. They can be as small as 8" or as long as 14″ (20-3 ...

'' www.reptile-database.org. (collared lizards) * venerable collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus antiquus'' * desert collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus bicinctores'' * common collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus collaris'' *Dickerson's collared lizard '' – Crotaphytus dickersonae'' *

Grismer's collared lizard Grismer's collared lizard (''Crotaphytus grismeri)'', also known commonly as the Sierra los Cucapas collared lizard and ''el cachorón de Sierra de los Cucapas'' in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is ...

– ''Crotaphytus grismeri'' *Eastern collared lizard – ''

Crotaphytus insularis ''Crotaphytus insularis'', the eastern collared lizard, is a species of lizard found in Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the n ...

'' * Sonoran collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus nebrius'' * reticulated collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus reticulatus'' * Baja collared lizard – ''Crotaphytus vestigium'' ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atte ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in different genus.

Technical characters

Species

References

Further reading