Mohawk Dunes Fringe-toed Lizard
Uma thurmanae
DeRycke, Gottscho, Mulcahy, and de Queiroz, 2020
YOU-mah — THUR-mah-nay
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
After earlier studies (Trépanier and Murphy, 2001, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 18: 327–334; Gottscho et al., 2017, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 106: 103–117) suggested that populations of Fringe-toed Lizards from the Mohawk Dunes (Yuma Co., AZ) formerly considered part of U. rufopunctata constitute a separate species, DeRycke et al. (2020, Zootaxa 4778: 67–100) presented additional morphological and molecular data and results corroborating that inference and named the species.
(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: 2024.04.22.13.50.15)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.03 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona
Taxonomic Etymology:
Honoring a field biologist involved in its discovery.
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.
thurmanae — A patronym honoring Kayla Thurman, one of the field researchers who helped collect and describe the species in southeastern California. The name uses the feminine genitive suffix -ae.
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:
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1958
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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
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1977
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Adest, Gary Andrew. Genetic relationships in the genus Uma (Iguanidae). Copeia 1977(1):47-52
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2013
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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
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2020
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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
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