The granite spiny lizard (Sceloporus orcutti), also known commonly as la espinosa del granito in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico. There are no subspecies.
Etymology The epithet, orcutti, honors American naturalist Charles Russell Orcutt (1864–1929), who collected the type specimen in San Diego County, California.Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained. http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.htmlBeolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Sceloporus orcutti, p. 195).
Geographic distribution Sceloporus orcutti is native to extreme southern California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
Description The granite spiny lizard usually has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The maximum recorded total length (tail included) is .Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America, A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. . (Sceloporus orcutti, pp. 120-121). The dorsal scales are strongly keeled and pointed on both the body and the tail. It has a wide purple mid-dorsal stripe. The male of the species has yellow-green and blue-centered scales on the body; the female and juveniles have distinct yellow-tan transverse bands on the body and tail. Additionally, the male has deep-blue ventral patches on its chest and throat, and it has femoral pores.
Behavior and habitat The granite spiny lizard is a colorful species that can be observed perched atop boulders from considerable distance. This species is primarily associated with rocky hillsides and outcrops.
Reproduction Sceloporus orcutti is oviparous.
Source This article is based on a description from "A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California", Robert N. Fisher and Ted J. Case, United States Geological Survey, https://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/index.htm .
References
Further reading
Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. 657 color plates. . (Sceloporus orcutti, p. 527 + Plate 351). Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp., 56 color plates. . (Sceloporus orcutti, pp. 287–288 + Plate 31 + Map 89). Stejneger L (1893). "Annotated List of the Reptiles and Batrachians Collected by the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, with Descriptions of New Species". North American Fauna (7): 159–228. (Sceloporus orcutti, new species, p. 181 + Plate I, Figures 4a–4c).