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Home/Species/ Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard

Sceloporus slevini

Smith, 1937

Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104180
Element CodeARACF14180
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyPhrynosomatidae
GenusSceloporus
Other Common Names
Bunch Grass Lizard (EN) Slevin's bunchgrass lizard (EN)
Concept Reference
Grummer, J. A., R. W. Bryson Jr, and T. W. Reeder. 2014. Species delimitation using Bayes factors: simulations and application to the Sceloporus scalaris species group (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Systematic biology 63(2):119-133.
Taxonomic Comments
An explicit species delimitation analysis based on DNA sequences from six nuclear and two mitochondrial gene regions by Grummer et al. (2014) corroborated S. slevini as distinct from other members of the S. scalaris group (Crother 2017).
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-08-22
Change Date2000-03-14
Edition Date2011-05-13
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Range Extent Comments
The geographic range extends from southeastern Arizona (Chiricahua, Dragoon, Whetstone, Huachuca, and Santa Rita mountains) and extreme southwestern New Mexico (Animas Mountains) south through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra del Nido of eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua into northwestern Durango (Lowe 1964, Degenhardt et al. 1996, Stebbins 2003). This is primarily a montane species, but it occurs or occurred on high grassy plains of Animas Valley (New Mexico), Sonoita Plain (Arizona), and near Yepomera (Chihuahua), as well as in mountains (Smith et al. 1996, Watkins-Colwell et al. 2003). The elevational range extends to at least 3,350 meters (around 11,000 feet); some isolated populations occur at elevations as low as 1,220 meters (about 4,000 feet) (Bock et al. 1990); typically between 1,500-3,000 meters (Degenhardt et al. 1996).
Occurrences Comments
Watkins-Colwell et al. (2003) mapped somewhat more than 50 locations that likely represent at least a couple dozen distinct occurrences. Degenhardt et al. (1996) mapped four locations in New Mexico (in contrast, Watkins-Colwell et al. [2003] mapped one location in New Mexico).
Threat Impact Comments
Cattle grazing in Arizona-New Mexico has degraded habitat and has caused large population declines (Ballinger and Congdon 1996), especially at lower elevations (Bock et al. 1990). Reduced populations on the Sonoita Plain, Arizona, may reflect drought combined with habitat loss from livestock grazing (Smith et al. 1998).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Typical habitat in the southwestern United States is bunchgrass of sunny coniferous woodlands and open plains and mountains (Stebbins 2003). The species is most common in dense bunchgrass on east- and south-facing slopes (see Ballinger and Congdon 1996). It is much more abundant in ungrazed grassland than in grazed grassland in southeastern Arizona. The lizard is seemingly very vulnerable to predation; bunchgrass affords needed cover (Bock et al. 1990, Ballinger and Congdon 1996). In Chihuahua, Mexico, the species occurs in forest and woodland habitats and apparently does not require bunchgrass (Van Devender and Lowe 1977).

Ecology

Attains densities of 100-200 per hectare under ideal conditions.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid in late June in Durango (some females lay second clutch in August) (Ortega and Barbault 1986), July-August in montane southeastern Arizona, and as late as late August or possibly early September on the Sonoita Plain in southeastern Arizona (Smith et al. 1990). Lays one clutch/year in Arizona. Clutch size 5-13, increasing with female size. Eggs hatch in August (1st clutch) and October (2nd clutch) in Durango.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS1Yes
ArizonaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
2 - Agriculture & aquaculture——High (continuing)
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranching——High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather——High (continuing)
11.2 - Droughts——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (1)
Arizona (1)
AreaForestAcres
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
References (22)
  1. Ballinger, R. E., and J. D. Congdon. 1996. Status of the bunch grass lizard, <i>Sceloporus scalaris</i>, in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 32(2):67-69.
  2. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  3. Bock, C. E., H. M. Smith, and J. H. Bock. 1990. The effect of livestock grazing upon abundance of the lizard, <i>Sceloporus scalaris,</i> in southeastern Arizona. J. Herpetol. 24:445-446.
  4. Creer, D. A., K. M. Kjer, D. L. Simmons, and J. W. Sites, Jr. 1997. Phylogenetic relationships of the <i>Sceloporus scalaris </i>species group (Squamata). Journal of Herpetology 31:353-364.
  5. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  6. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  7. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  8. Degenhardt, W. G., C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price. 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. xix + 431 pp.
  9. Grummer, J. A., R. W. Bryson Jr, and T. W. Reeder. 2014. Species delimitation using Bayes factors: simulations and application to the <i>Sceloporus scalaris</i> species group (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Systematic biology 63(2):119-133.
  10. Lowe, C. H., editor. 1964. The vertebrates of Arizona with major section on Arizona habitats. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. 270 pp.
  11. Mink, D. G., and J. W. Sites, Jr. 1996. Species limits, phylogenetic relationships, and origins of viviparity in the <i>scalaris </i>complex of the lizard genus <i>Sceloporus </i>(Phrynosomatidae: Sauria). Herpetologica 52:551-571.
  12. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. 1985. Handbook of species endangered in New Mexico.
  13. Ortega, A., and R. Barbault. 1986. Reproduction in the high elevation Mexican lizard <i>Sceloporus scalaris</i>. J. Herpetol. 20:111-114.
  14. Sites, J. W., Jr., J.W. Archie, C.J. Cole and O. Flores-Villela. 1992. A review of phylogenetic hypotheses for lizards of the genus <i>Sceleporus</i> (Phrynosomatidae): implications for ecological and evolutionary studies. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (213):1-110.
  15. Smith, H. M., C. E. Bock, and J. H. Bock. 1990. Notes on reproduction and coloration in the bunchgrass lizard, <i>Sceloporus scalaris</i>, in southeastern Arizona. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 26(2):64-67.
  16. Smith, H. M., et al. 1998. Slevin's bunch grass lizard (<i>Sceloporus slevini</i>) decimated on the Sonoita Plain, Arizona. Herpetological Review 29:225-226.
  17. Smith, H. M., G. J. Watkins-Colwell, E. A. Liner, and D. Chiszar. 1996. <i>Sceloporus scalaris auctorum</i> a superspecies (Reptilia: Sauria). Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 32(2):70-74.
  18. Stebbins, R. C. 1954a. Amphibians and reptiles of western North America. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
  19. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  20. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  21. Van Devender, T. R., and C. H. Lowe, Jr. 1977. Amphibians and reptiles of Yepomera, Chihuahua, Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 11:41-50.
  22. Watkins-Colwell, G. J., H. M. Smith, and D. Chiszar. 2003. <i>Sceloporus sleveni</i>. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 771:1-6.