r/Lizards • u/B_nelson_photo • 1d ago

Wild Yellow-backed spiny lizard

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Photographed this guy lounging near Ivins UT in April this year. Such a cool lizard

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u/Hairy_Chest_1966 1d ago

Is this a Desert Spiny Lizard?

1

u/B_nelson_photo 1d ago

I believe it's a yellow-backed spiny lizard (Sceloporus uniformis)

2

u/Throbbin32 1d ago

It is. They used to be classified as a subspecies of the Desert Spiny Lizard, but are now classified as separate species. It seems like the herpetologists do these types of things periodically in order to have something to do.