Dead side-blotched lizard
| Dead side-blotched lizard | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
| Genus: | Uta |
| Species: | U. lowei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Uta lowei L. Grismer, 1994
| |
The dead side-blotched lizard (Uta lowei), also known commonly as the El Muerto side-blotched lizard and la mancha lateral muerta in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Sceloporinae of the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is endemic to Isla El Muerto, an island in the Gulf of California, Mexico.[1][2]
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, lowei, is in honor of American herpetologist Charles Herbert Lowe.[3]
Description
[edit]Uta lowei has strongly keeled dorsal scales, and is light gray to off-white ventrally. Adult males have a dorsal pattern of offset paravertebral dark blotches, with a dense network of turquoise spots.[2]
Habitat
[edit]The preferred natural habitat of Uta lowei is rocky areas of the marine intertidal zone, but it has also been found in rocky areas of inland desert.[1]
Diet
[edit]Uta lowei preys predominately upon isopods.[2]
Reproduction
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Frost, D.R. (2007). "Uta lowei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T64176A12743615. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64176A12743615.en. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d Uta lowei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 28 January 2015.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Uta lowei, p. 161).
Further reading
[edit]- Grismer, L.L. (1994). "Three New Species of Intertidal Side-Blotched Lizards (Genus Uta) from the Gulf of California, México". Herpetologica. 50 (4): 451–474. (Uta lowei, new species, p. 464).
- Grismer, L.L. (1999). "An Evolutionary Classification of Reptiles on Islands in the Gulf of California, México". Herpetologica. 55 (4): 446–469.
- Grismer, L.L. (2002). Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520925205. 413 pp.
- Heimes, P. (2022). Lizards of Mexico, Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. 2, Part I. Iguanian Lizards. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. ISBN 978-3-89973-101-9. 448 pp.