#sauromalus

[herpsandbirds]

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) hatchling, family Iguanidae, found in the southwestern U.S. and NW Mexico

photograph by Innovative Ectotherms

[bettergeology]

Recently got back from Death Valley, my fifth visit in the last 12 months (I think I like going there…). Not much new stuff on this visit, but I did get to see my first chuckwalla (a large lizard)! Not much as far as wildflowers go this year, they didn’t have as wet of an autumn/winter as in other recent years.

My friend the chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater):

He’s about 30 cm/1 ft long!

My friends the zebra-tailed lizards (Callisaurus draconoides):

On the left is a juvenile. Adult, on right, is about 9 cm/4 inches long excluding tail.

Here’s some geology:

Natural Bridge, the 2nd tallest but widest-spanning natural bridge in the park:

(See wife at center for scale!)

Brine pool out on the salt flats:

About 1.5 meters/5 feet wide

The ever-classic Mosaic Canyon:

Here, Precambrian Noonday Dolomite (white/yellow) metamorphosed into marble and stretched by intense pressure during mountain uplift. Later, that rock was carved into a slot canyon and filled with debris. That happened long enough ago that those debris flow deposits solidified into rock (gray, mosaic-like rock). Then, it was uplifted again and the canyon was re-carved through both the marble and the breccia!

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

This animal was requested!

[spinus-pinus]

Common Chuckwalla Sauromalus ater

6/10/2024 Joshua Tree National Park, California

hsug1747 via iNaturalist, CC-BY-NC

[mutant-distraction]

photo: Jesse Rios

is this

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. Wikipedia

[fantasyfanaticsphotographyworld]

Sauromalus ater, Common Chuckwalla. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Tucson, Arizona. November 2024.

[krabbler]

In The Rocks.

Sauromalus ater (Common Chuckwalla)

[subverted]

Chuckwallas are criminally underrated. January 2, 2022

[lightningshotss]

Western Chuckwalla (Sauromalus)

taken at the Santa Barbara Zoo in Santa Barbara, California

status: least concern

Tumblr queue is set up for one photo a week for the year and I have only included ONE photo from my Texas trip in it so far!! What does this mean? Multiple photo posts a week for the entire year! Will start with two a week but may increase based on how many photos make the cut!

As for this lizard guy, had a hard time trying to nail down what he was. Still unsure of my conclusion but for now it is as labeled.

[iam-the-lost-girl]

[danielbauerzoophoto-blog]

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) von Daniel Bauer Über Flickr: The Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) inhabited rocky desert regions in southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico (Reptilia: Squamata: Iguanidae).

Frankfurt Zoological Garden

[herpsandbirds]

Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater), family Iguanidae, Arizona, USA

photograph by Peter Pearsall

[terranlifeform]

Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) at the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, U.S.

Ron Wolf

[lovingexotics]

San Esteban Island Chuckwalla Sauromalus Varius Source: Here

[spinus-pinus]

Common Chuckwalla Sauromalus ater

6/10/2024 Joshua Tree National Park, California

hsug1747 via iNaturalist, CC-BY-NC

[amazingpetenclosures]

Sauromalus Ater (Chuckwalla) Enclosure by yttriux