Editing Chuckwalla

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{About|the lizard|other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Chuckwalla<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=173945 |taxon=Sauromalus |access-date=15 September 2008}}</ref><br/>''Sauromalus''
| image = Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater).jpg
| image_caption = Common chuckwalla, ''S. ater'' (male)
| image2 = Sauromalus ater (3).jpg
| image2_caption = Common chuckwalla, ''S. ater'' (female)
| taxon = Sauromalus
| authority = [[Auguste Duméril|Dumeril]], 1856
| type_species = ''[[Sauromalus ater]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Auguste Duméril|Dumeril]], 1856
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = ''[[Sauromalus ater]]'' (including ''Sauromalus obesus'')<br />
''[[Angel Island chuckwalla|Sauromalus hispidus]]''<br />
''[[Sauromalus klauberi]]''<br />
''[[Sauromalus slevini]]''<br />
''[[Sauromalus varius]]''
}}

'''Chuckwallas''' are [[lizard]]s found primarily in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Some are found on coastal islands. The five species of chuckwallas are all placed within the [[genus]] '''''Sauromalus'''''; they are part of the iguanid [[family (biology)|family]], [[Iguanidae]].

==Taxonomy and etymology==
The [[genera|generic]] name, ''Sauromalus'', is said to be a combination of two [[ancient Greek]] words: ''sauros'' meaning "lizard"  and ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) meaning "flat".<ref>{{cite book|last=Avise|first=John C. |title=Sketches of Nature: A Geneticist's Look at the Biological World During a Golden Era of Molecular Ecology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPFeBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA142|year=2015|publisher=Elsevier Science|isbn=978-0-12-801960-3|page=142}}</ref><ref>Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press.</ref> The common name "chuckwalla" derives from the [[Shoshoni_language|Shoshone]] word ''tcaxxwal'' or [[Cahuilla language|Cahuilla]] ''čaxwal'', transcribed by [[Spain|Spaniards]] as ''chacahuala''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chuckwalla|title=Definition of CHUCKWALLA|website=www.merriam-webster.com|access-date=Jun 7, 2021}}</ref>

===Extant species===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Western.chuckwalla.arp.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Sauromalus ater]]'' ||  common chuckwalla ||eastern California, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada south to Baja California and Sonora.
|-
|[[File:Sauromalus hispidus - Reptilium Landau.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Sauromalus hispidus ]]'' ||  Angel Island chuckwalla ||Isla Ángel de la Guarda and 10 smaller islands in the Gulf of California
|-
|[[File:Sauromalus obesus 1zz.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Sauromalus klauberi]]'' || Santa Catalina chuckwalla / Spotted chuckwalla || Baja California
|-
| || ''[[Sauromalus slevini]]'' ||  Monserrat chuckwalla ||islands in the Sea of Cortés: Isla del Carmen, Isla Coronados, and Isla Monserrate
|-
|[[File:San Esteban Island Chuckwalla.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Sauromalus varius]]'' ||  San Esteban chuckwalla / piebald chuckwalla / pinto chuckwalla || endemic to San Esteban Island in the Gulf of California
|-
|}

== Description ==
Chuckwallas are stocky, wide-bodied lizards with flattened midsections and prominent bellies. Their tails are thick, tapering to a blunt tip.<ref name=Stebbins/> Loose folds of skin characterize the neck and sides of their bodies, which are covered in small, coarsely granular scales. The [[Sauromalus ater|common chuckwalla]] (''Sauromalus ater'') measures {{nobr|15.75 inches}} long, whereas insular species such as the [[San Esteban chuckwalla]] of [[San Esteban Island]] (''Sauromalus varius'') can measure as long as  {{nobr|30 inches.}}

They are [[Sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]], with males having reddish-pink to orange, yellow, or light gray bodies and black heads, shoulders, and limbs; females and juveniles have bodies with scattered spots or contrasting bands of light and dark in shades of gray or yellow. Males are generally larger than females and possess well-developed [[femoral pore]]s located on the inner sides of their thighs; these pores produce secretions believed to play a role in marking [[territory (animal)|territory]].<ref name=Stebbins/>
[[File:western.chuckwalla.arp.jpg|thumb|left|Common chuckwalla, ''Sauromalus ater'']]

== Range, habitat, and diet ==
The genus ''Sauromalus'' has a wide distribution in [[biome]]s of the [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]] and [[Mojave Desert]]s.<ref name="Stebbins"/>  The common chuckwalla (''[[Sauromalus ater|S. ater]]'') is the species with the greatest range, found from southern [[California]] east to southern [[Nevada]] and [[Utah]] and western [[Arizona]], and south to [[Baja California]] and northwestern Mexico.<ref name="Stebbins"/> The [[peninsular chuckwalla]] (''S. australis'') is found on the eastern portion of the southern half of the Baja California Peninsula.<ref name = "Hollingsworth">{{Cite journal | last = Hollingsworth | first = Bradford D.  
  | title = The systematics of chuckwallas (''Sauromalus'') with a phylogenetic analysis of other iguanid lizards
  | journal = [[Herpetological Monographs]] | volume = 12 | pages = 38–191 
  | year = 1998
  | jstor = 1467020
  | doi =10.2307/1467020}}</ref>

The other species are island-dwelling, so have much more restricted distributions. The [[Angel Island Chuckwalla|Angel Island chuckwalla]] (''S. hispidus'') is found on [[Isla Ángel de la Guarda]] and surrounding islands off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula.<ref name="Case">{{cite book| last=Case|first=T. J.|year= 1982|chapter= Ecology and evolution of insular gigantic chuckwallas, ''Sauromalus hispidus'' and ''Sauromalus varius'' |pages=184–212|title= Iguanas of the World|publisher= Noyes Publications|location=Park Ridge, New Jersey|isbn=0-8155-0917-0}}</ref> Two rare and [[endangered species]] are the [[Sauromalus slevini|Montserrat chuckwalla]] (''S. slevini'') found on Islas Carmen, Coronados, and Montserrat in the southern [[Gulf of California]] and the San Esteban chuckwalla or painted chuckwalla (''S. varius'') found on San Esteban Island, Lobos, and Pelicanos.

[[File:Death Valley,19820817,Animals,Chuckawalla.jpg|thumbnail|Chuckwalla (''S. ater'') in rocky area of [[Death Valley National Park]]]]
Chuckwallas prefer [[lava flow]]s and rocky areas<ref name="Stebbins"/> typically vegetated by [[creosote bush]] and other such drought-tolerant scrub. The lizards may be found at elevations  up to 4,500&nbsp;ft (1,370&nbsp;m).<ref name="Stebbins"/>

Primarily [[herbivore|herbivorous]], chuckwallas feed on leaves, fruit, and flowers of [[annual plant|annual]]s and [[perennial plant]]s; [[insect]]s represent a supplementary prey.<ref name="Stebbins"/>  The lizards are said to prefer yellow flowers, such as those of the [[brittlebush]] (''Encelia farinosa'').<ref name="Stebbins"/>

== Behavior and reproduction==

Harmless to humans, these lizards are known to run from potential threats.<ref name="Stebbins"/>  When disturbed, a chuckwalla  wedges itself into a tight rock crevice and inflates its lungs to entrench itself.<ref name="Stebbins">Stebbins, Robert C., (2003) ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians'', 3rd Edition.  Houghton Mifflin Company, {{ISBN|0-395-98272-3}}</ref><ref name="Deban">{{cite journal |last1=Deban |first1=Stephen M. |last2=O'Reilly |first2=James C. |last3=Theimer |first3=Tad |title=Mechanism of defensive inflation in the chuckwalla, ''Sauromalus obesus'' |journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology |date=1994 |volume=270 |issue=5 |pages=451–459 |doi=10.1002/jez.1402700506}}</ref>

Males are seasonally and conditionally territorial; an abundance of resources tends to create a hierarchy based on size, with one large male dominating the area's smaller males.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Chuckwallas use a combination of color and physical displays, namely "push-ups", head-hobbing, and gaping of the mouth, to [[animal communication|communicate]] and defend their territory.<ref name="Stebbins"/>

Chuckwallas are [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] animals and as they are [[ectotherm]]ic, spend much of their mornings and winter days [[wikt:bask|basking]].<ref name="Stebbins"/>  These lizards are well adapted to desert conditions; they are active at temperatures up to {{convert|39|C|F}}. Chuckwallas [[Hibernation|hibernate]] during cooler months and emerge in February.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Juveniles emerge first, then adults, as temperatures reach around {{convert|32|C|F}}.<ref name="Stebbins"/>

Mating occurs from April to July, with five to 16 eggs laid between June and August. The eggs hatch in late September.<ref name="Stebbins"/> Chuckwallas may live for 25 years or more.

<gallery>
File:Male Chuckwalla.JPG|Large male chuckwalla, picture taken in the White Tank Mountains near Surprise, AZ
File:Chuckwalla.jpg|Adult chuckwalla of the Sonoran Desert
File:Juvenile Chuckwalla.jpg|Juvenile chuckwalla of the Sonoran Desert
File:Chuckwalla(landers ca).jpg|Adult chuckwalla of the Mojave Desert
File:Basking Chuckwalla.jpg|Large male common chuckwalla in Joshua Tree National Park
File:Chuckwalla Sneezing.jpg|A chuckwalla sneezing salt in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
File:Chuckwalla baby.jpg|Baby Chuckwalla, Titus Canyon, Death Valley National Park
</gallery>

==Human use==
The [[Seri people]] considered the Angel Island species of chuckwalla an important food item.<ref>Richard Felger and Mary B. Moser (1985) ''People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians'' Tucson: University of Arizona Press.</ref>  They are believed to have translocated the lizards to most of the islands in [[Bahia de los Angeles]] for use as a food source in times of need.<ref name="Case"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{ref begin}}
*{{cite book |first1=Gunther |last1=Köhler |first2=Hannes |last2=Zorn |date=18 July 2014 |title=Chuckwallas:  Lebensweise, Pflege, Zucht |place=Offenbach, DE |publisher=Herpeton Verlag Elke Köhler |ISBN=978-3-936180-43-5|lang=de }}
{{ref end}}

==External links==
*ARKive - [https://web.archive.org/web/20071102191608/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Sauromalus_varius/ images and movies of the San Esteban Island chuckwalla ''(Sauromalus varius)'']
{{Iguanidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2016288}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sauromalus| ]]
[[Category:Reptile genera]]
[[Category:Lizards of North America]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Mexico]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Colorado Desert]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Auguste Duméril]]