Sauromalus ater
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
Sauromalus ater, also known as the common chuckwalla or northern chuckwalla, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It inhabits the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its range extends from eastern California, Utah, and Nevada south to Baja California and Sonora.
The common name "chuckwalla" (or chuckawalla) is derived from the Shoshone word tcaxxwal, or caxwal, the form used by the Cahuilla of southeastern California. Its generic name, Sauromalus, is said to be a combination of two ancient Greek words: sauros meaning "lizard" and omalus meaning "flat". The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however homalos (ὁμαλός) or homalēs (ὁμαλής). Its specific name is ater, Latin for "black" or "dark"
The United States populations of the species were previously known as Sauromalus obesus; although that name is no longer officially recognized, it is still very common in the literature and it remains in many standard natural history references for North America. In 1998, Bradford D. Hollingsworth examined variations in Sauromalus and concluded that only five species should be recognized. He regarded S. obesus as conspecific... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Natura Artis Magistra | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 3 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | Living Desert Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Cheyenne Mountain Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Oakland Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 16 | Dickerson Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Indianapolis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Montgomery Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | ABQ BioPark Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Niabi Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 25 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 27 | Hogle Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Krakow Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 29 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Rosamond Gifford Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | Turtle Back Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | John Ball Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | California Living Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | Frankfurt Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 35 | Lehigh Valley Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 36 | Reserva Zoológica Oasys MiniHollywood | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 37 | Henry Vilas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 38 | Stone Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 39 | Sacramento Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | Drayton Manor Theme Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 41 | Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 42 | ZooAmerica | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 43 | Elmwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | VigoNature | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 45 | Bergen County Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 46 | Georgia Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 47 | Central Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 48 | Monterey Bay Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 49 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 50 | Exotarium Sosnowiec | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Chuckwalla sighting in Mesa on a given day, based on 146 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 24 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Chuckwalla in Mesa on a given day, against under 5% in October and December, the lowest months. Those are among Mesa's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 35 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Chuckwalla sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Common Chuckwalla sightings, Mesa has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Phoenix (United States, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Chuckwalla is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Mesa (146 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.
