Dunes sagebrush lizard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dunes sagebrush lizard |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Sceloporus
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| Species: |
arenicolus
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| Synonyms | |
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Sceloporus graciosus arenicolus Degenhardt & Jones, 1972 |
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The dunes sagebrush lizard, also known as Sceloporus arenicolus, is a special kind of spiny lizard. It loves to eat insects! This lizard only lives in a small area of sandy dunes. You can find it in southeastern New Mexico and a few counties in nearby Texas. It lives among small oak trees called shinnery oak. In fact, this lizard has the second-smallest home range of all lizards in the United States!
Contents
Where They Live
These lizards live in sandy areas called "semi-stabilized sand dunes." This means the sand isn't always shifting. Their homes are filled with networks of short shinnery oak trees and sand sagebrush plants. The ground is usually sloped and sandy.
The lizards often use special spots called "blowouts." A blowout is like a sandy, bowl-shaped dip in the dunes. It looks a bit like a small crater. These spots are their main "microhabitat," which means their favorite small living space. The roots of the shinnery oak trees help hold the sand together. They also provide safe places for the lizards to dig their burrows. When the sand gets too hot or too cold, the lizards can hide in these burrows.
What Threatens Them
The biggest danger to the dunes sagebrush lizard is when their home is destroyed.
Habitat Loss
In the past, chemicals were sprayed on the shinnery oak trees to clear the land for cows to graze. When this happened, the lizards disappeared from those areas. Also, activities related to the oil industry often break up the dune systems. When the dunes are disturbed, a plant called Mesquite can grow there. This plant takes over areas where shinnery oak and the lizards used to live. Luckily, spraying chemicals on the dunes sagebrush lizard's land is now against the law in New Mexico. However, building for the oil industry still continues.
Competition from Other Lizards
Other lizard species can also be a threat. For example, the side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) can live in many different types of habitats. It seems to be better at adapting to changes in the environment than the dunes sagebrush lizard. This means it might compete with the dunes sagebrush lizard for food and space, which isn't natural for this ecosystem.
Efforts to Protect Them
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service once thought about listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. This would have given it special protection under the Endangered Species Act. This decision was delayed so scientists could do more research. In June 2012, the Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to list the lizard as endangered. They said this was because of "unprecedented commitments to voluntary conservation agreements." This means people in New Mexico and Texas made big promises to help protect the lizard and its home for a long time.
