Panamint Alligator Lizard
Elgaria panamintina
(Stebbins, 1958)
EL-GAR-ee-ah — pan-ah-MIN-tee-nah
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
The results of Feldman and Spicer (2006, Molecular Ecology 15: 2201–2222), based on mtDNA, indicating that E. panamintina is derived from within E. multicarinata, was corroborated by Leavitt et al. (2017, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 110: 104–121) using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.
(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: 2023.09.08.15.14.30)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 1.62 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: California
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the mountain range in eastern California where it is found.
Elgaria — An arbitrary or constructed name coined by Spencer Baird and Charles Girard, likely derived from Elgar or as a variant of Gerrhonotus.
panamintina — Named after the Panamint Mountains, part of the Basin and Range Province in eastern California. The Latinized suffix -ina or -inae denotes origin or association—“from the Panamints.”
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1958
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Stebbins, Robert C. A new alligator lizard from the Panamint Mountains, Inyo County, California. American Museum Novitates (1883):1-27
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1988
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Good, David A. Phylogenetic relationships among Gerrhonotine lizards: An analysis of external morphology. University of California Publications in Zoology (121):1-139
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1988
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Good, David A. Allozyme variation and phylogenetic relationships among the species of Elgaria (Squamata: Anguidae). Herpetologica 44(2):154-162
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1996
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Banta, Benjamin H, Clark R. Mahrdt, and Kent R. Beaman. Elgaria panamintina. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (629):1-4
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2006
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Feldman, Chris R. and Greg S. Spicer. Comparative phylogeography of woodland reptiles in California: Repeated patterns of cladogenesis and population expansion. Molecular Ecology 15(8):2201–2222
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2017
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Leavitt, Dean H., Angela B. Marion, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, and Tod W. Reeder. Multilocus phylogeny of alligator lizards (Elgaria, Anguidae): Testing mtDNA introgression as the source of discordant molecular phylogenetic hypotheses. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 110(2017):104-121
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