Sceloporus merriami
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
Sceloporus merriami, commonly known as the canyon lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico. The specific name, merriami, is in honor of American zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam.
Sceloporus merriami is found in the United States in the state of Texas, and it is found in Mexico in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Nuevo León. The preferred natural habitat of Sceloporus merriami is steep rocky areas of desert.
Sceloporus merriami lives on rock faces of canyon walls, and shelters in crevices. Adults of Sceloporus merriami may reach 58 mm (2.2 in) snout-to-vent length (SVL). Including the tail, they may reach 162 mm (6.4 in) in total length. The dorsal scales are small, and the lateral scales are granular.
Dorsally, the canyon lizard is gray, tan, or reddish-brown, matching the rocks on which it lives. There are four rows of dark spots on the back, and a vertical black line in front of the front leg. Males have blue and black lines on the throat.
Sceloporus merriami... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Canyon Lizard sighting in Big Bend National Park on a given day, based on 250 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 48 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Canyon Lizard in Big Bend National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to February, the lowest months. That is one of Big Bend National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 10 mm in April.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Canyon Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Big Bend National Park, in our data
Big Bend National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Canyon Lizard sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Sceloporus
The closest relatives of the Canyon Lizard that you can see in Big Bend National Park (genus Sceloporus, Spiny Lizards) are Crevice Spiny Lizard (about 30%), Southwestern Fence Lizard (about 20%) and Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Canyon Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Big Bend National Park (250 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
