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Home/Species/ Clark's Spiny Lizard

Sceloporus clarkii

Baird and Girard, 1852

Clark's Spiny Lizard

G5Secure Found in 37 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104172
Element CodeARACF14010
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
Concept Reference
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 Sceleporus (Phrynosomatidae): implications for ecological and evolutionary studies. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (213):1-110.
Taxonomic Comments
Lizards found on boulders at Granite Dells, north of Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona, were described as S. c. vallaris, based on the retention of the juvenile color pattern by large adults (Shannon and Urbano 1954). Stebbins (2003) did not recognize vallaris as a valid subspecies. A thorough range-wide analysis of geographic variation is needed to evaluate the taxonomic status and distribution of the described subspecies (R. L. Bezy, 5 October 2003, Tucson Herpetological Society website, http://www.arts.arizona.edu/herp/SCCL.html).
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-07-15
Change Date1996-10-28
Edition Date2005-07-15
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Range Extent Comments
The range encompasses central and southeastern Arizona (and disjunctly southwestern and northwestern Arizona) and southwestern New Mexico and extends southward to northern Jalisco, Mexico, including Islas Tiburon and San Pedro Nolasco in the Gulf of California (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Grismer 2002, Stebbins 2003). Elevational range extends from sea level to about 6,060 feet (1,848 meters) (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Stebbins 2003).
Occurrences Comments
Degenardt et al. (1996) mapped over 100 collection sites in New Mexico, and there are even more in Arizona and southward into Mexico.
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats have been identified.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This lizard occurs primarily in wooded habitats of lower mountain: oak-pine woodland, tropical deciduous forest, subtropical thornforest (Stebbins 2003), riparian woodland communities that penetrate into more arid landscapes from forested mountains (Degenhardt et al. 1996); it also inhabits rocky areas at the lower edges of foothills and in oak-grassland communities as low as 1,060 meters (Degenhardt et al. 1996). It is primarily a tree-dweller (climbs high into trees) but also can be found on the ground among rocks. Woodrat nests in trees may be used as refuges.

Ecology

About half of adult females survive from one year to next in central Arizona (Tinkle and Dunham 1986).

Reproduction

Central Arizona: eggs laid June to mid-July; most females produce 1 clutch annually, some lay second clutch in July; clutch size averages 20; females sexually mature in 22 months (Tinkle and Dunham 1986).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodWoodland - Mixed
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ArizonaS5Yes
New MexicoS4Yes
Roadless Areas (37)
Arizona (25)
AreaForestAcres
Arnold MesaPrescott National Forest12,286
Black CanyonPrescott National Forest10,683
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
Cimarron HillsCoconino National Forest5,303
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
Happy ValleyCoronado National Forest7,972
HellsgateTonto National Forest6,171
Lower RinconCoronado National Forest3,278
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
MazatzalTonto National Forest16,942
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Mitchell PeakApache-Sitgreaves National Forests35,398
MuldoonPrescott National Forest5,821
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Pine Mountain Wilderness ContiguousTonto National Forest6,518
PipestemApache-Sitgreaves National Forests34,598
Santa TeresaCoronado National Forest8,929
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (12)
AreaForestAcres
Aspen MountainGila National Forest23,784
Brushy MountainGila National Forest7,199
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Devils CreekGila National Forest89,916
Eagle PeakGila National Forest34,016
Frisco BoxGila National Forest38,979
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
Lower San FranciscoGila National Forest26,460
Meadow CreekGila National Forest34,167
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
Sawyers PeakGila National Forest59,743
References (14)
  1. 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.
  2. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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]
  6. Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Queiroz, D. R. Frost, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., T. W. Taggart, S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2000 [2001]. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 29. 82 pp.
  7. 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.
  8. Grismer, L. L. 2002. Amphibians and reptiles of Baja California including its Pacific islands and islands in the Sea of Cortes. University of California Press, Berkeley. xiii + 399 pp.
  9. Schmidt, K. P. 1953. A check list of North American amphibians and reptiles. Sixth Edition. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herptetologists. Univeristy of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280 pp.
  10. Shannon, F. A., and R. F. Urbano. 1954. A new subspecies of the lizard <i>Sceloporus clarki </i>from the Colorado Plateau of Arizona. Herpetologica 10:189-191.
  11. 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.
  12. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  13. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  14. Tinkle, D. W., and A. E. Dunham. 1986. Comparative life histories of two syntopic sceloporine lizards. Copeia 1986:1-18.