The Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard (''Uma notata'') 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 medium-sized, diurnal

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

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 spiny ...

. It is adapted to arid climates and is most commonly found in sand dunes within the

Colorado Desert The Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert located in California, United States, and Baja California, Mexico. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali valleys. It is home to ...

of the United States and Mexico. It was originally described by Baird in 1859 as having a head that was two-fifths the size if the head and body, was a light pea-green spotted with darker green and with a white underside. It can be distinguished from the

Mojave fringe-toed lizard The Mojave fringe-toed lizard (''Uma scoparia'') is a species of medium-sized, white or grayish, black-spotted diurnal lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is adapted to arid climates and is most commonly found in sand dunes within the Mojav ...

and the

Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (''Uma inornata'') is a species of phrynosomatid lizard. Phylogeny and evolution The species is most closely related to Uma notata, the Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard. Genetic variation within the s ...

by its orange/pinkish stripes on the sides of its underside, while the backs have much similar appearances. The former subspecies ''Uma notata rufopunctata'' has had an unsettled taxonomy, and in 2016 was found to represent a hybrid between ''Uma notata'' and '' Uma cowlesi''.

Habitat

The Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard (''Uma notata'') occupy the vast windblown sands of the

Algodones Dunes The Algodones Dunes is a large sand dune field, or Erg (landform), erg, located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of California, near the border with Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja California. The field is approximately long ...

Imperial County, California Imperial County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, ranking as the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat and largest city is ...

and crossing the border into

Sonora, Mexico Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital (and largest) city of which is ...

References

Uma Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Fauna of the Colorado Desert Reptiles described in 1859 Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird {{Phrynosomatidae-stub