Kingdom Animalia Class Reptilia Family Phrynosomatidae Genus Spiny lizard Order Scaled reptiles | Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Lacertilia Phylum Chordata Rank Subspecies | |
Similar Spiny lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis taylori, Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis, Sceloporus occidentalis bocourtii, Sceloporus asper | ||
Sceloporus occidentalis becki, commonly known as the island fence lizard, is a subspecies of the western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis. The subspecific epithet, becki, is in honor of Rollo Howard Beck, an American ornithologist who collected the first specimens.
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Geographic range
The island fence lizard, S. o. becki is endemic to the Channel Islands of California.
Taxonomy
Some authors have raised the island fence lizard to the rank of a species, i.e., Sceloporus becki. However, recent work in molecular systematics has suggested four clades and 11 genetically separable populations, and the subspecies will probably have to be redefined.
References
Sceloporus occidentalis becki Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA