Yuman Desert Fringe-toed Lizard
Uma rufopunctata
Cope, 1895
YOU-mah — roo-foh-punk-TAY-tah
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
DeRycke et al. (2020, Zootaxa 4778: 67–100), based on their own results and those of Gottscho et al. (2017, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 106: 103–117), considered the species status of U. rufopunctata to be uncertain. The populations in question may be 1) part of U. notata, 2) part of U. cowlesi (endemic to Mexico), 3) a hybrid swarm between U. notata, U. cowlesi, and lizards from the geographic area between those species, or 4) a species that is incompletely separated from both U. notata and U. cowlesi.
(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: 2024.04.22.13.48.36)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.03 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona
Taxonomic Etymology:
A desert lizard with distinctive reddish body spots.
Uma — An arbitrary name coined by Baird in 1859, possibly derived from Native American sources or used for its brevity. Its etymological origin remains unclear.
rufopunctata — From Latin rufus, “reddish,” and punctatus, “spotted” or “dotted.” Refers to the red spotting on the body and flanks.
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
|
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
|
|
1977
|
Adest, Gary Andrew. Genetic relationships in the genus Uma (Iguanidae). Copeia 1977(1):47-52
|
|
1989
|
de Queiroz, Kevin. Morphological and biochemical evolution in the sand lizards. Dissertation. University of California, Berkeley. 491pp.
|
|
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
|
Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna
along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167
|
|
2020
|
Derycke, Elizabeth G., Andrew D. Gottscho, Daniel G. Mulcahy, and Kevin De Queiroz. A new cryptic species of fringe-toed lizards from southwestern Arizona with a
revised taxonomy of the Uma notata species complex (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) Zootaxa 4778(1):67-100
|