Baja California Leopard Lizard
Gambelia copeii
(Yarrow, 1882)
gam-BEL-ee-uh — KOH-pee-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
The standard English name of this species has been changed to improve the information content of the name as well as to remove a potentially offensive eponym.
(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: 2023.04.08.21.20.39)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.19 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: California
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a renowned 19th century zollogist.
Gambelia — Named in honor of William Gambel (1823–1849), a young American naturalist and explorer who died of typhoid at just 25 years old while serving as a surgeon during the Mexican-American War. The recognition commemorates his early but influential contributions to American natural history.
copeii — Patronym honoring Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897), prominent American paleontologist and herpetologist.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Cope's Lizard (Crotaphytus copeii: 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);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1882
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Yarrow, Henry C. Descriptions of new species of reptiles and amphibians in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 5:438-444
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1975
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Montanucci, Ricahrd R., Ralph W. Axtell, and Herbert C. Dessauer. Evolutionary divergence among collared lizards (Crotaphytus), with comments on the status of Gambelia. Herpetologica 31:336-347
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1996
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McGuire, Jimmy A. Phylogenetic systematics of crotaphytid lizards (Reptilia: Iguania: Crotaphytidae). Bulletin of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 32:iv + 1-143
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2007
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McGuire, Jimmy A., Charles W. Linkem, Michelle S. Koo, Delbert W. Hutchison, A. Kristopher Lappin, David I. Orange, Julio Lemos-Espinal, Brett R. Riddle, and Jef R. Jaeger. Mitochondrial introgression and incomplete lineage sorting through space and
time: Phylogenetics of Crotaphytid lizards. Evolution 61-(12):2879–2897
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