Sceloporus virgatus, commonly known as the striped plateau lizard, is a species of lizard within the genus Sceloporus. This genus is known for the signaling modalities that it uses and exhibits, including visual motion and chemical signals that aid in identifying their territories as well as color that indicates aggression. The striped plateau lizard originates from the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and is relatively small in size, measuring less than in length.
Etymology
"Virgatus" is a Latin word, and it signifies "of twigs" and "rodlike". This term represents the distinct, light line with a dark band below it on the dorsal surface of the striped plateau lizard.
Description
Physical body
Sceloporus virgatus has an average body mass of and an average body length of . The striped plateau lizard has a pair of whiteish-yellow stripes on the dorsolateral sides of its body. Hence, the lizard gets its common name from its physical description of stripes, creating the "striped plateau lizard". In females, these stripes tend to appear more as a pale brown. Between the stripes, the body of the striped plateau lizard is colored gray, brown, or tan. This area is also delineated by two vertical rows of lightly shaded spots with dark edges. These spots are slightly difficult to see as they often appear faint and mostly dark in color without white spots in the center. There is another lightly shaded, lateral stripe located low on each side of the lizard, going from the neck to the groin area. The area between the dorsolateral and lateral stripes also tends to be darker than the mid-dorsal area of the body. The ventral underside of the striped plateau lizard, particularly the belly area, is a solid cream in color, with no pattern. However, near the throat, there is a small, faint green or pale blue spot ventrally on the adult lizards.
These animals are sexually dimorphic and there are many differences between males and females. For instance, the colored spots on the throat become bordered with orange or the orange color replaces any faint green or pale blue coloration in reproductive females. The chests of the striped plateau lizards also have a few black spots. Moreover, scales run in rows on the dorsal side of the bodies, in particular, diagonally, upward, and back to the rear side. The lizards also have pores, and for the scales that are located where the pores are, they are notched posteriorly. These scales and pores are most noticeable in male striped plateau lizards. Males are also smaller in size than females, measuring to less than in length. In addition, they have enlarged post-anal scales and swollen tail bases. In comparison to the female striped plateau lizards, the dorsal spotting on males tends to be less distinct, but the striping, the throat patches, and the body color are more vivid and clear.
Visual and hearing systems
As part of its visual system, the striped plateau lizard has corneal eyes. A curved cornea is an image-forming lens due to the difference in refractive indices between air and corneal tissue. In land vertebrates, many species with corneal eyes also have lenses, but for these species, the lenses are flatter and weaker than those of aquatic species. However, corneal eyes cannot focus in aquatic habitats. Thus, the cornea is the source of most of the refractive power for land vertebrates.
As for the auditory system of the striped plateau lizard, this species has a tympanic middle ear. This is a cavity between the outer ear and the inner ear, and it is filled with air. When auditory vibrations hit the tympanic membrane, or ear drum, sound is processed and heard.
Habitat and distribution
The striped plateau lizard is primarily a terrestrial and montane species since they reside on land, particularly in the temperate forest and in the moist savanna. S. virgatus is most abundantly found in mixed pine and oak woods or in wooded canyons and ravines. It ranges upward into pine forests and downward in oak woodlands located along streams. As the images to the right depict, the striped plateau lizard tends to favor hard and rough surfaces on the ground like rocks, leaf litter, logs, and scattered grasses. They can also be found near sandy, rocky intermittent streams.
Sceloporus virgatus is widely found in Southwestern United States in the geographical range between extreme southeastern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico, including Chiricahua, Peloncillo, Guadalupe, and Animas mountains. This geographical range also extends south to the Sierra Madre Occidental and to southern Chihuahua in Mexico.