Baja California Spiny Lizard

Baja California Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus zosteramus

Baja California Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus zosteramus, Juvenile or Female. Photograph taken within the bush at Bahía Santa Rosalillita, Baja California, August 2018. Photograph courtesy of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California. Identification courtesy of Gary Nafis, Californiaherps.com, who noted that the tail in the photographed lizard had been badly damaged but not completely severed and that the regeneration has not gone well.

The Baja California Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus zosteromus, is a member of the Phrynosomatidae family of North American Spiny Lizards, which include the Zebra-Tailed, Earless, Fringe-Toed, Spiny, Tree, Side-Blotched, and Horned Lizards. The Phrynsomatidae Family consists of one hundred thirty-six members placed in nine genera. There are one hundred fourteen species in the Sceloporus genus. There have been three subspecies of the Baja California Spiny Lizard identified within the Baja, Sceloporus zosteromus monserratensis, Sceloporus zosteromus rufidorsum and Sceloporus zosteromus zosteromus. Each is found within a specific but different territory and they differ in nomenclature, color, and markings. Sceloporus zosteromus monserratensis is found in the central peninsula and is also known as the Central Baja Spiny Lizard and in Mexico as Bejori Del Centro Peninsular. Sceloporus zosteromus rufidorsum is also known as the Red-backed Spiny Lizard or Mexican Desert Lizard and in Mexico as Bejori de Espalda Roja. Sceloporus zosteromus zosteromus is also known as the Baja Spiny Lizard and San Lucan Spiny Lizard and in Mexico as Bejori de San Lucas. Some scientists believe that these are simply color variations of one and the same species. The generic name for the Baja California Spiny Lizard in Mexico is Lagarto Espinoso de Baja California.

The Baja California Spiny Lizard is a diurnal and terrestrial species that can be found in a wide range of habitats including vegetated arroyos, chaparral, flat sandy desert, coastal dunes, rocky areas, and lowland scrub. They are commonly seen basking and perching on rocks and logs. Reproduction is oviparous. The Baja California Spiny Lizard is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Baja California Spiny Lizard is endemic to Baja California and is found throughout the Baja California Peninsula. Their range extends southward from Ensenada, westward to Bahía de los Ángeles, and south to Cabo San Lucas. They are also found on the Cedros, Mag-dalena, and Santa Margarita islands in the Pacific Ocean and on Carmen, Coronado, Espiritu Santo, Monserrate, and Partida Sur islands in the Gulf of California.


From a conservation perspective, the Baja California Spiny Lizard is currently considered to be of Least Concern with a wide distribution and large, stable populations that are tolerant of a broad range of habitats. Long term, they will be threatened by the expansion of agriculture and urbanization.