Desert Reptiles and Landscapes
Collared Lizards of the Genus Crotaphytus
C. collaris is divided into five subspecies. The eastern collared lizard, C. c. collaris, ranges from the Ozarks of southern Missouri and Arkansas, westward through the plains of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and into eastern New Mexico. Here it comes into contact with the western collared lizard, C. c. baileyi. C. c. baileyi is similar in color to C. c. collaris, yet C. c. baileyi has a slightly longer snout and separate supraorbital scales. C. c. collaris usually has fused supraorbital scales. C. c. baileyi occurs from western Arizona, eastward into central New Mexico, where it intergrades with C. c. collaris and C. c. fuscus. In western Arizona two hybrid zones have been discovered where C. c. baileyi comes into contact with the Mojave collared lizard, C. bicinctores (Axtell, 1972)(Montanucci, 1983). C. c. fuscus, the Chihuahuan collared lizard, ranges from south-central New Mexico east to Texas, southward into northern Mexico. C. c. auriceps, the yellow headed collared lizard, is found in east central Utah and western Colorado. This subspecies is similar in coloration to C. c. baileyi except the yellow on the head extends on the chin down to the dewlap. In C. c. baileyi this area is white. C. c. auriceps intergrades with C. c. baileyi between the Colorado River in Utah and the Painted Desert area of Arizona. C . c. melanomaculatus, the black spotted collared lizard, is a newly described subspecies that inhabits the Mexican states of Coahuila, Zacatecas, Nuevo Leon, San Potosi and the southwestern edge of Tamaulipas.Crotaphytus collaris is characterized by a round cylindrical tail and a broad head with a blunt snout. Like C. reticulatus, C. collaris has black oral melanin. Dorsal coloration varies greatly in this species. In some population it is green while in others it is blue to turquoise. C. c. fuscus lacks the greens and blues and is brown to tan. Some males have yellow bands across the dorsum. Females are greenish to brown and are not as bright as the males. Gular coloration also varies. In some population it is green while in others it is blue to turquoise. C. c. fuscus lacks the greens and blues and is brown to tan. Some males have yellow bands across the dorsum. Females are greenish to brown and are not as bright as the males. Gular coloration also varies. Most western populations have green to blue dewlaps while eastern populations have yellow or orange dewlaps. This species lacks the black pigmentation in the center of its dewlap. Females usually have a plain white dewlap, but some individuals will have small spots in the gular area. A pair of collars are always present. In this species, the anterior collar doesn't connect in the gular area as it does in the rest of Crotaphytus.