THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Phrynosomatidae  

Plateau Fence Lizard
Sceloporus tristichus Cope in Yarrow, 1875

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 See note under S. cowlesi.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.02.06.09.27.41)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.13 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Arizona Colorado New Mexico Utah Wyoming

First instance(s) of published English names:
Sombre Alligator Lizard (Sceloporus tristichus: 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); Southern Plateau Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus tristichus: 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:
1875 Yarrow, Henry C. Report upon the collections of batrachians and reptiles made in portions of Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona during the years 1871, 1872, 1872, and 1874. Wheeler, G. M. ed., Report upon Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian in Charge of First Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, Under the Direction of Brig. Gen. A. A. Humphryes, Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army. Volume 5 (Zoology), Part. 4. US Government, Washington, D. C. 509-584pp.
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
2002 Leaché, Adam D. and Tod W. Reeder. Molecular systematics of the Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus): A comparison of parsimony, likelihood, and bayesian approaches. Systematic Biology 51(1):44–68
2002 Miles, Donald B., Robert Noecker, Willem M. Roosenburg, and Matthew M. White. Genetic relationships among populations of Sceloporus undulatus fail to support present subspecific designations. Herpetologica 58(3):277-292
2009 Leaché, Adam D. Species tree discordance traces to phylogeographic clade boundaries in North American Fence Lizards (Sceloporus). Systematic Biology 58(6):547-559
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
2017 Leaché, Adam D., Jared A. Grummer, Rebecca B. Harris, and Ian K. Breckheimer. Evidence for concerted movement of nuclear and mitochondrial clines in a lizard hybrid zone. Molecular Ecology 26:2306-2316

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 26 April 2025 22:40 CT