The Angel Island chuckwalla (''Sauromalus hispidus''), also known as the spiny chuckwalla, is a species of

chuckwalla Chuckwallas are lizards found primarily in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Some are found on coastal islands. The six species of chuckwallas are all placed within the genus ''Sauromalus''; they are part of th ...

lizard belonging to the family

Iguanidae The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaphy ...

endemic to

Isla Ángel de la Guarda Isla Ángel de la Guarda, (Guardian Angel Island) also called Archangel Island, is a large island in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) east of Bahía de los Ángeles in northwestern Mexico, separated from the Baja California Peninsula by th ...

(Guardian Angel Island) in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. The species was transported to other islands by a tribe of the Seri as a potential food source.

Taxonomy and etymology

The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard" and ''omalus'' meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής). Its specific name ''hispidus'' is Latin for "coarse" or "thorny" in reference to the spines on the chuckwalla's tail. The common name chuckwalla derives from the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshu ...

word ''tcaxxwal'' or

Cahuilla The Cahuilla , also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California.Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...

as ''chacahuala''.

Description

The Angel Island chuckwalla is the second-largest species of chuckwalla, reaching in body length and overall length, and weighing up to . It is considered a gigantic species as it is two to three times the size of its mainland counterparts. Its body color is a dark brown color with transverse black bands which fade into a solid darker brown to black color as the animal ages.

Distribution and habitat

The Angel Island chuckwalla is endemic to

and 10 smaller islands in the Gulf of California.

Behavior and reproduction

Harmless to humans, these lizards are known to run from potential threats. When disturbed, the chuckwalla inflates its lungs, distends its body, and wedges itself into a tight rock crevice.Stebbins, Robert C.,(2003) ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians'', 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Deban, S.M., J.C. O’Reilly, and T.C. Theimer 1994. Mechanism of defensive inflation in the chuckwalla, ''Sauromalus obesus''. Journal of Experimental Zoology 270: 451-459. Males are seasonally and conditionally territorial; an abundance of resources tends to create a hierarchy based on size, with one large male dominating the area's smaller males. Chuckwallas defend their territory and

communicate Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

with one another using a combination of color and physical displays, namely "push ups", head-hobbing, and gaping of the mouth. Angel Island chuckwallas are diurnal animals, and as they are

exothermic In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity ( ...

, spend much of their mornings and winter days basking. These lizards are well adapted to desert conditions; they are active at temperatures up to 102 °F (39 °C). Mating occurs from April to July, with five to 16 eggs laid between June and August. The eggs hatch in late September. Chuckwallas may live for 25 years or more.

Diet

Chuckwallas prefer dwelling in

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...

s and rocky areas with nooks and crannies available for a retreat when threatened. These areas are typically vegetated by

creosote bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

and cholla cacti which form the staple of their diet as the chuckwalla is primarily

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

. Chuckwallas also feed on leaves, fruit, and flowers of

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

s and

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

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 of ...

s represent a supplementary prey if eaten at all.

Human contact

The Comca’ac considered this species of chuckwalla an important food item.Richard Felger and Mary B. Moser (1985) ''People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians'' Tucson: University of Arizona Press. So much so, a few lizards were cross-bred with

San Esteban chuckwalla The San Esteban chuckwalla (''Sauromalus varius''), also known as the piebald chuckwalla or pinto chuckwalla, is a species of chuckwalla belonging to the family Iguanidae endemic to San Esteban Island in the Gulf of California. It is the largest ...

s and translocated to most of the islands in Bahia de los Angeles: Isla San Lorenzo Norte, Isla San Lorenzo Sur, and

Tiburón Island Tiburón Island is the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Etymology is Spanish for 'shark'. Although the Seri na ...

by the Seri people for use as a food source in times of need. This was before the founding of America and most of these populations appear to have died out, but the process was repeated by herpeticulturalists in the early 2000s as a way of legally producing a San Esteban-like chuckwalla that the average reptile enthusiast could keep. The crosses are fertile and seem to have the best traits of both species - the brighter coloration of the San Esteban chuckwalla with the calmer temperament of the Angel Island chuckwalla.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q115765 Sauromalus Endemic reptiles of Mexico Tiburón Island Chuckwalla, Angel Island Reptiles described in 1891 Taxa named by Leonhard Stejneger