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REPTILIA:
SQUAMATA: IGUANIDAE: Sauromalus
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Sauromalus ater
Author and date
Chuckwalla
Photos
& text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.
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Range:
A resident of
hot deserts of Arizona and adjacent northwestern Mexico.
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Diagnosis:
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Description: A
stout-bodied lizard with a blunt-tipped tail.
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Natural History:
Chuckwallas
are the second largest lizards native to the United States (behind the
Gila monster, also of Arizona), and dwell in some of the hottest desert
habitats of Arizona and adjacent northwestern Mexico. Like other members
of the subfamily Iguaninae, chuckwallas are large heat-loving herbivores,
an tend to have extraordinarily long life spans (in excess of 17 years).
Like other large
iguanids, chuckwallas are herbivores, favoring the fruits of desert
cactuses.
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Reproduction:
Lays eggs. Juveniles
are more brightly colored than adults, with particularly broad crossbands
on the tail.
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Taxonomy & Relationships:
The entire genus Sauromalus
is restricted to Arizona south to islands in the Gulf of California and
surrounding coastal mainland localities.
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Variation:
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Additional Comments:
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Type Specimen:
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Literature:
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