The granite night lizard (''Xantusia henshawi)'', also known
commonly as Henshaw's night lizard, is a
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), ...
of
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, 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 Island#Oceanic isla ...
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 ...
Xantusiidae. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''henshawi'', is in honor of American naturalist
Henry Wetherbee Henshaw.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Xantusia henshawi'', p. 121).]
Geographic range
''X. henshawi'' is found in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in the Mexican state of
Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, and also in the United States in adjacent southern
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
Description
''X. henshawi'' is flat-bodied with a broad, flat head and a soft skin. It has rounded, dark dorsal spots on a pale yellow or cream background. Its scales are granular on its
dorsum, but large and squarish on the ventral surface. This lizard has large eyes with vertical pupils, and it lacks eyelids.
Habitat and behavior
The granite night lizard is often found on rocky slopes with large
exfoliating
In cosmetology, exfoliation is the removal of the surface skin cells and built-up dirt from the skin's surface. The term comes from the Latin word ('to strip off leaves'). This is a regular practice within the cosmetic industry, both for its o ...
boulders and abundant crevices, but is occasionally found in
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...
and
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
without boulders. It is active in crevices during the day, but moves on the surface at night.
[ Fisher, Robert N.; Case, Ted J. (1997). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California''. San Diego: Department of Biology, University of California at San Diego. 46 pp. . USGS Western Ecological Research Center website. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/index.htm .]
Reproduction
''X. henshawi'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.
See also
*
California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
The California coastal sage and chaparral () is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part o ...
References
Further reading
*
Lee JC (1976). "''Xantusia henshawi'' Stejneger, Granite night lizard". ''Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles'' (189): 1–2.
*
Smith HM,
Brodie ED Jr (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. . (''Xantusia henshawi'', pp. 84–85).
*
Stebbins RC (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition''. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 533 pp. . (''Xantusia henshawi'', p. 306 + Plate 35 + Map 77).
*
Stejneger L (1893). "Diagnosis of a new California lizard". ''Proceedings of the United States National Museum'' 16: 467. (''Xantusia henshawi'', new species).
Granite night lizard
Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands
Reptiles of the United States
Reptiles of Mexico
Reptiles described in 1893
Taxa named by Leonhard Stejneger
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