THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Phrynosomatidae  

Blue Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus cyanogenys Cope, 1885
sel-oh-PORE-us — SIGH-ah-noh-JEN-iss

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.13.21.21)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.13 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the intense blue coloration on its throat.
Sceloporus — rom Greek skelos (σκελός), “leg,” and poros (πόρος), “pore,” referring to the conspicuous femoral pores found on the legs of males.
From Greek skelos (σκελός), “leg,” and poros (πόρος), “pore,” referring to the prominent femoral pores found in males of the genus.
cyanogenys — From Greek kyanos (κύανος), “blue,” and genys (γῆνυς), “jaw” or “chin.” The name means “blue-chinned,” referring to the vivid blue coloration on the lower jaw and throat region.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Blue scaly Lizard (Sceloporus cyanogenys: 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:
1885 Cope, Edward D. A contribution to the herpetology of Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia :379-403
1992 Sites, Jack W., Jr., J. W. Archie, C. J. Cole, and O. Flores Villela. A review of phylogenetic hypotheses for lizards of the genus Sceloporus (Phrynosomatidae): Implications for ecological and evolutionary studies. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (213):1-110
1993 Wiens, John J. Phylogenetic relationships of phrynosomatid lizards and monophyly of the Sceloporus group. Copeia 1993(2):287-299
2010 Wiens, John J., Caitlin A. Kuczynski, Saad Arif, and Tod W. Reeder. Phylogenetic relationships of phrynosomatid lizards based on nuclear and mitochondrial data, and a revised phylogeny for Sceloporus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54:150-161
2010 Leaché, Adam D. and Jack W. Sites. Chromosome evolution and diversification in North American Spiny Lizards (genus Sceloporus). Cytogenetic and Genome Research 127(2-4):166-191
2010 Leaché, Adam D. Species trees for spiny lizards (Genus Sceloporus): Identifying points of concordance and conflict between nuclear and mitochondrial data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 2010(54):162-171
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

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:53 CT