THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Phrynosomatidae  

Plateau Spot-tailed Earless Lizard
Holbrookia lacerata Cope, 1880

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Roelke et al. (2018, Journal of Natural History 52: 1017–1027) found that the two previously recognized subspecies of H. lacerata form reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA groups that correspond to differences in morphology and environmental niches and are separated by a presumed geographic barrier, leading those authors to propose that the two former subspecies be recognized as the species H. lacerata and H. subcaudalis. Those results were corroborated in a more detailed follow-up study by Hibbitts et al. (2019, Zootaxa 4619: 139–154). We have replaced the former standard English names “Northern Spot-tailed Earless Lizard” and “Southern Spot-tailed Earless Lizard” with the English names proposed by the latter authors.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.04.19.09.54.17)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.45 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Texas

First instance(s) of published English names:
Boll's Spotted Lizard (Holbrookia lacerata: 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); Boll's Spotted Lizard (Holbrookia maculata lacerata: 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);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1880 Cope, Edward D. On the zoological position of Texas. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (17):151
1935 Smith, Hobart M. Notes on some Mexican lizards of the genus Holbrookia, with a description of a new species. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 22(8):185-201
1954 Axtell, Ralph W. The systematic relationships of certain lizards in two species groups of the genus Holbrookia. Thesis. University of Texas, Austin. pp.
1958 Axtell, Ralph W. A monographic revision of the Iguanid genus Holbrookia. Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. pp.
1958 Norris, Kenneth Stafford. The evolution and systematics of the iguanid genus Uma and its relation to the evolution of other North American desert reptiles. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 114(3):247-326
1963 Clarke, Robert F. The comparative behavior of the iguanid lizards, Callisaurus, Cophosaurus, and Holbrookia. Dissertation. University of Oklahoma, Norman. 136pp.
1965 Clarke, Robert F. An ethological study of the iguanid genera Callisaurus, Cophosaurus, and Holbrookia. Emporia State Research Studies 13(4):1-66
1968 Axtell, Ralph W. Holbrookia lacerta. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (56):1-2
1989 de Queiroz, Kevin. Morphological and biochemical evolution in the sand lizards. Dissertation. University of California, Berkeley. 491pp.
1991 Collins, Joseph T. Viewpoint: A new taxonomic arrangement for some North American amphibins and reptiles Herpetological Review 22(2):42-43
1993 Wiens, John J. Phylogenetic relationships of phrynosomatid lizards and monophyly of the Sceloporus group. Copeia 1993(2):287-299
2013 Lambert, Shea M. and John J. Wiens. Evolution of viviparity: A phylogenetic test of the cold-climate hypothesis in Phrynosomatid lizards. Evolution 67(9):2614–2630
2014 Crother, Brian I. The bold taxonomic hypotheses of Collins (1991): 23 years later. Herpetological Review 45(2):268-272
2019 Hibbitts, Toby J., Wade A. Ryberg, Johanna A. Harvey, Gary Voelker, A. Michelle Lawing, Connor S. Adams, Dalton B. Neuharth, Drew E. Dittmer, C. Michael Duran, Brad D. Wolaver, Jon Paul Pierre, Benjamin J. Labay, and Travis J. LaDuc. Phylogenetic structure of Holbrookia lacerata (Cope 1880) (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae): One species or two? Zootaxa 4619(1):139–154

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 11:26 CT