Xantusia sierrae
Bezy, 1967
zan-TOO-see-ah — see-ERR-ee
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
See the note in the 8th edition of this list concerning the questionable status of this 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: 2023.04.10.13.42.07)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.2 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: California
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the Sierra Nevada.
Xantusia — Named in honor of John Xantus de Vesey (1825–1894), a Hungarian-born zoologist and collector who worked in California and Mexico. Many reptiles and other animals bear his name.
sierrae — From Sierra, meaning “mountain range” in Spanish, with Latin genitive -ae, meaning “of the Sierra.” Refers to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California where the species occurs.
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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1967
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Bezy, Robert L. Variation, distribution, and taxonomic status of the Arizona night lizard (Xantusia arizonae). Copeia 1967(3):653-661
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1986
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Crother, Brian I., Michael M. Miyamoto, and William F. Presch. Phylogeny and biogeography of the lizard family Xantusiidae. Systematic Zoology 35(1):37-45
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2013
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Noonan, Brice P., Jennifer B. Pramuk, Robert L. Bezy, Elizabeth A. Sinclair, Kevin de Queiroz, and Jack W. Sites, Jr. Phylogenetic relationships within the lizard clade Xantusiidae: Using
trees and divergence times to address evolutionary questions at multiple
levels Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69(2013):109-122
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