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Lizards of Zihuatanejo

SUBORDER​ SAURIA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Reptiles (Class Reptilia)

-​Snakes and Lizards (Order Squamata)

-Lizards (Suborder​ Sauria)

-Phrynosomatid Lizards (Family Phrynosomatidae)

-Sceloporine Lizards (Subfamily Sceloporinae)

-Spiny Lizards (Genus Sceloporus)

-Black-nosed Lizard (Sceloporus melanorhinus)


The Sceloporus melanorhinus, or Black-nosed Lizard, is native to the southern United States and Mexico. This species lives in a variety of habitats including deserts, grasslands, and woodlands. Their diet consists primarily of insects, but they will also eat other small invertebrates. This species is very active during the day, and is often seen basking in the sun. They have a black nose , and their overall coloration ranges from grey to brown.

Black-nosed Lizard

Sceloporus melanorhinus

Diet

  • Primarily insectivorous, feeding on ants, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, caterpillars, spiders, and other small arthropods.

  • Occasionally consumes small fruits, flowers, and other plant material.

  • Hunts during the day by scanning from rocks, tree trunks, and logs before making short, rapid dashes to capture prey.

Range

  • Endemic to western Mexico, occurring along the Pacific slope from southern Sinaloa through Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and into western Oaxaca.

  • Common throughout the Zihuatanejo region, especially in tropical dry forest and rocky coastal habitats.

  • Occurs from sea level to about 1,600 m (5,250 ft).

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, thorn scrub, rocky hillsides, coastal scrub, woodland edges, secondary forest, and open forest clearings.

  • Frequently seen basking on rocks, stone walls, fallen logs, fence posts, and tree trunks.

  • Retreats into rock crevices, beneath bark, or under logs when threatened.

Size

  • Total length: 18–28 cm (7.1–11.0 in)

  • Snout-to-vent length (SVL): 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in)

  • Weight: 20–60 g

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