biology

Grismer's collared lizard

Grismer's collared lizard is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Grismer's collared lizard rather than just read about it. In short: Grismer's collared lizard (Crotaphytus grismeri), also known commonly as the Sierra los Cucapas collared lizard and el cachorón de Sierra de los Cucapas in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to Baja California, Mexico.

Key takeaways

Grismer's collared lizard belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Grismer's collared lizard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Grismer's collared lizard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Grismer's collared lizard (Crotaphytus grismeri), also known commonly as the Sierra los Cucapas collared lizard and el cachorón de Sierra de los Cucapas in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to Baja California, Mexico.

Etymology The specific name, grismeri, is in honor of American herpetologist Larry Lee Grismer.

Geographic range In Baja California, C. grismeri is found in the Sierra de Los Cucapah and the contiguous Sierra El Mayor.

Habitat The preferred natural habitat of C. grismeri is rocky areas of desert.

Description C. grismeri is smaller as an adult than all other species of Crotaphytus. The light portion of the collar is green, and the tail is dull orange.

Behavior C. grismeri is terrestrial and saxicolous.

Reproduction C. grismeri is oviparous.

References

Further reading McGuire JA (1994). "A new species of collared lizard (Iguania: Crotaphytidae) from northeastern Baja California, México". Herpetologica 51 (4): 438-450 (Crotaphytus grismeri, new species). Jones, Lawrence L.C.; Lovich, Robert E. (editors) (2009). Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Tucson, Arizona: Rio Nuevo Publishing. 568 pp. ISBN 978-1933855356. Lipfert, Jürgen (2004). Halsbandleguan: Die Gattung Crotaphytus. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. 64 pp. ISBN 3937285156. (in German). Villegas-Petraca, Rafael; Aguilar-López, José Luis; Hernández-Hernández, Julio César; Muñoz-Jiménez, Oscar (2022). "Diversity and conservation of terrestrial vertebrates (birds, mammals, and reptiles) of Sierra Cucapá, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico". ZooKeys 1088: 17–39.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Grismer's collared lizard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Grismer's collared lizard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Grismer's collared lizard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Grismer's collared lizard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Grismer's collared lizard

In research: Grismer's collared lizard appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Grismer's collared lizard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Grismer's collared lizard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Crotaphytus, Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula, Endemic reptiles of Mexico, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Grismer's collared lizard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Grismer's collared lizard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Grismer's collared lizard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Grismer's collared lizard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grismer's collared lizard in simple terms?

Why does Grismer's collared lizard matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Grismer's collared lizard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Grismer's collared lizard.