THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Anguidae  

Texas Alligator Lizard
Gerrhonotus infernalis Baird, 1859 “1858”
jer-hoh-NOH-tus — in-fur-NAL-iss

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 García-Vázquez et al. (2018, Journal of Biogeography 45: 1640–1652) and Blair et al. (2022, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 135: 25–39) found deep divergences within G. infernalis in the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, samples of the newly described G. mccoyi (García-Vázquez, 2018, Herpetologica, 74: 269–278) from Coahuila, Mexico are nested within G. infernalis for both mtDNA and nuclear datasets. (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: 2023.09.12.11.00.33)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.12 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its presence in hot or “infernal” regions.
Gerrhonotus — Greek gerrhon = “wickerwork” or “reed fence” + noton = “back”; Likely refers to the segmented or plated appearance of the dorsal scales.
infernalis — Latin infernalis = “of the underworld” or “hellish”; Possibly referencing the hot, arid habitats of Texas and northern Mexico.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Plated Lizard (Gerrhonotus infernalis: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Smooth-headed Alligator Lizard (Gerrhonotus liocephalus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Texas Alligator Lizard (Gerrhonotus liocephalus infernalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1859 "1858" Baird, Spencer F. Description of new genera and species of North American lizards in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 10:253-256
1994 Good, David A. Species limits in the genus Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae). Herpetological Monographs 8:180-202
1995 Good, David A. and Melissa G. Wiedenfeld. The holotype of the Texas Alligator Lizard, Gerrhonotus infernalis Baird (Squamata: Anguidae). Journal of Herpetology 29(4):628-630
2018 García‐Vázquez, Uri O., Adrián Nieto‐Montes de Oca, Robert W Bryson Jr, Walter Schmidt‐Ballardo, and Carlos J Pavón‐Vázquez. Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the genus Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae). Journal of Biogeography 45(7):1640-1652
2018 García‐Vázquez, Uri O., Arturo Contreras-Arquieta, Marysol Trujano-Ortega, and Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca. A New Species of Gerrhonotus (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico. Herpetologica 74(3):269-278
2022 Blair, Christopher, Robert W Bryson, JR, Uri O García-Vázquez, Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca, David Lazcano, John E Mccormack, John Klicka Phylogenomics of alligator lizards elucidate diversification patterns across the Mexican Transition Zone and support the recognition of a new genus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 135(1):25–39

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:54 CT