Class Reptilia Suborder Iguania Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Family Phrynosomatidae | |
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Similar Sceloporus poinsettii, Chihuahuan spotted whiptail, Eastern fence lizard, Greater earless lizard, Holbrookia maculata | ||
The southwestern fence lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi) also known as the White Sands prairie lizard or the White Sands swift is species of spiny lizard native to the Chihuahuan Desert of the southwest United States and north-central Mexico. Described in 1956 as Sceloporus undulatus cowlesi, subspecies of the eastern fence lizard, DNA studies elevated the southwestern fence lizard to species status.
The following cladogram is based on Leaché and Reeder, 2002, and shows the relationship of a S. cowlesi to other species in the "Sceloporus undulatus group".
References
Southwestern fence lizard Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA