Sceloporus orcutti
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The granite spiny lizard (Sceloporus orcutti), also known commonly as la espinosa del granito in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico. There are no subspecies.
The epithet, orcutti, honors American naturalist Charles Russell Orcutt (1864–1929), who collected the type specimen in San Diego County, California. Sceloporus orcutti is native to extreme southern California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
The granite spiny lizard usually has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 7.6–10.8 cm (3.0–4.3 in). The maximum recorded total length (tail included) is 28.9 cm (11.4 in). The dorsal scales are strongly keeled and pointed on both the body and the tail. It has a wide purple mid-dorsal stripe. The male of the species has yellow-green and blue-centered scales on the body; the female and juveniles have distinct yellow-tan transverse bands on the body and tail. Additionally, the male has deep-blue ventral patches on its chest and throat, and it has femoral pores.
The granite... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Granite Spiny Lizard sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 37 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Granite Spiny Lizard in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Granite Spiny Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Granite Spiny Lizard sightings, Los Angeles ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in San Diego (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Granite Spiny Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Los Angeles (58 verified sightings), 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.
