biology

Sceloporus poinsettii

Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii rather than just read about it. In short: Sceloporus poinsettii, the crevice spiny lizard, is a species of small, phrynosomatid lizard. Etymology The epithet, poinsettii, is in honor of American physician, botanist, and statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sceloporus poinsettii, the crevice spiny lizard, is a species of small, phrynosomatid lizard.

Etymology The epithet, poinsettii, is in honor of American physician, botanist, and statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Geographic range In the United States, Sceloporus poinsettii occurs in the Chihuahua Desert and Edwards Plateau regions of Texas and New Mexico. In Mexico it occurs in the border states from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora, eastward through Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. Southward its distribution is less well established, although it is known to occur throughout of the state of Durango, parts of Zacatecas, with additional records from San Luis Potosi in the southeast, and the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Jalisco in the southwest.

Description The crevice spiny lizard is typically grey in color, but sometimes can have a ruddy red-brown appearance with a black and white collar around the neck region. The underside is typically light grey, but males often have blue patches on either side of their bellies. The tail typically has black banding. Their scales have a distinctly spiny texture. They can grow to 11.8 cm (4.6 in) snout-to-vent length, and 31.1 cm (12.2 inches) total length.

Behavior

Crevice spiny lizards are typically shy and nervous, fleeing up a rock face or into a crevice if approached. They prefer semi-arid habitats, often of limestone rock, where there are numerous holes and easily accessible cracks.

Diet Crevice spiny lizards are insectivorous, consuming a wide variety of spiders, beetles, and other insects, but they will sometimes also consume tender vegetation.

Reproduction Sceloporus poinsettii is one of the several species of Sceloporus that are ovoviviparous. Breeding occurs in the spring, and a litter of up to 11 young are born in midsummer.

Subspecies Five subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies

Sceloporus poinsettii amydrus Webb, 2006 Sceloporus poinsettii axtelli Webb, 2006 Sceloporus poinsettii macrolepis H.M. Smith & Chrapliwy, 1958 Sceloporus poinsettii poinsettii Baird & Girard, 1852 Sceloporus poinsettii polylepis H.M. Smith & Chrapliwy, 1958

References

Further reading Baird, Spencer F., and Charles Girard (1852). "Characteristics of some New Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 6: 125–129. (Sceloporus poinsettii, new species, pp. 126–127). Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Sceloporus poinsettii, pp. 527–528 + Plate 354). Conant, Roger (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Sceloporus poinsettii, pp. 100–101 + Plate 17 + Map 66). Stebbins, Robert C. (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. xiii + 533 pp. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Sceloporus poinsettii, p. 285 + Plate 31 + Map 88). Zim, Herbert S., and Hobart M. Smith (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. (Sceloporus poinsetti, pp. 56, 155).

External links Herps of Texas: Sceloporus poinsettii

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sceloporus poinsettii

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii

In research: Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii 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: Sceloporus poinsettii is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert, IUCN Red List least concern species, NatureServe secure species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sceloporus poinsettii in simple terms?

Sceloporus poinsettii, the crevice spiny lizard, is a species of small, phrynosomatid lizard. Etymology The epithet, poinsettii, is in honor of American physician, botanist, and statesman, Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Why does Sceloporus poinsettii 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 Sceloporus poinsettii?

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 Sceloporus poinsettii.