Dipsosaurus dorsalis
(Baird and Girard, 1852)
DIP-soh-SAWR-us — dor-SAL-iss
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Valdivia-Carillo et al. (2017, Journal of Heredity 108: 640–649) presented evidence for three populations of Dipsosaurus dorsalis along the peninsula of Baja California, with gene flow between them. They did not include samples from the United States, mainland Mexico, or islands in the Gulf of California, nor did they propose any taxonomic changes.
(de Queiroz, Kevin and Lauren M. Chan. 2025. Squamata (excluding snakes) – Lizards. Pages 23-37 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.11.20.09.34.15)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.31 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Known for its arid habitat and prominent dorsal crest.
Dipsosaurus — Greek dipsa = “thirst” + sauros = “lizard” — “thirst lizard,” referring to desert habitat.
dorsalis — Latin dorsalis = “of the back” — referring to the prominent dorsal crest or ridge.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Sharp-back Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Thirsty Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis: Cooper, James G. 1869. The naturalist in California. The American Naturalist 3(9):470-481); Colorado Desert Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Crested Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Northern Crested Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis dorsalis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Lucan Crested Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis lucanensis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis dorsalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Crested Lizard (Dipsosaurus dorsalis dorsalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1852
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Baird, Spencer F. and Charles Girad. Characteristics of some new reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Second Part. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 6:125-129
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1975
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Stewart, Glenn R. and Ronald S. Daniel. Microornamentation of lizard scales: Some variations and taxonomic correlations. Herpetologica 31(1):117-130
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1992
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Hulse, Arthur C. Dipsosaurus, D. dorsalis Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (542):1-6
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2017
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Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna
along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167
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