''Crotaphytus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
lizards
Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The ...
,
commonly known as collared lizards, in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Crotaphytidae. Member
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
are small to medium-sized predators indigenous to the American southwest, Baja peninsula, and Mexico. Including the tail, they can be as small as or as long as , and are characterized by distinct bands of black or brown around the neck, to which their common names refer.
Species
The following
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
and
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are recognized as being valid.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
''
Nota bene
( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''.
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A
binomial authority in parentheses or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Crotaphytus''.
Symbol
In 1969,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
designated its first
state reptile
Twenty-eight U.S. states have named an official state reptile. As with other United States state symbols, state symbols, states compare admirable aspects of the reptile and of the state, within designating statutes. Schoolchildren often start c ...
when it chose the collared lizard.
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
Holbrook JE (1842). ''North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. II.'' (Second edition). Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 142 pp. (''Crotaphytus'', new genus, p. 79).
*
External links
Photos of genus members
Crotaphytus
Lizard genera
Taxa named by John Edwards Holbrook
{{lizard-stub