Ornate Tree Lizard
Urosaurus ornatus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyPhrynosomatidae (Phrynosomatid Lizards)
- GenusUrosaurus (Tree and Bush Lizards)
- SpeciesUrosaurus ornatus (Ornate Tree Lizard)
About the Ornate Tree Lizard
Urosaurus ornatus, commonly known as the ornate tree lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The species, which was formerly called simply the "tree lizard", has been used to study physiological changes during the fight-or-flight response as related to stress and aggressive competition. Its life history and costs of reproduction have been documented in field populations in New Mexico and Arizona. This species has been fairly well studied because of its interesting variation in throat color in males (within a population) that can correlate with different reproductive strategies.
The ornate tree lizard may grow to a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of up to 59 millimetres (2.3 in). As adults, all males have paired turquoise patches of skin on the abdomen; females lack this abdominal coloration. Male ornate tree lizards are found in a variety of colors. While not all populations contain more than one or two colors, 9 color types have been documented within U. ornatus. A population documented in Verde River, Arizona, has two types of coloration patterns among male tree lizards... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Desert Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus magister
Zebra-tailed Lizard
Callisaurus draconoides
Common Side-blotched Lizard
Uta stansburiana
Greater Earless Lizard
Cophosaurus texanus
Clark's Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus clarkii
Regal Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma solare
Greater Short-horned Lizard
Phrynosoma hernandesi
Elegant Earless Lizard
Holbrookia elegans
Southwestern Fence Lizard
Sceloporus cowlesi
Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus bimaculosus
Mountain Spiny Lizard
Sceloporus jarrovii
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Ornate Tree Lizard in Saguaro National Park?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Ornate Tree Lizard sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 1,366 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Ornate Tree Lizard in Saguaro National Park?
April has the highest sighting rate for Ornate Tree Lizard in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.