NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Arizona Alligator Lizard [nobilis]
Elgaria kingii Gray, 1838
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
photographed in rocky mid-elevation draw, west of Cleator, AZ
Marshal Hedin from San Diego · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Madrean alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii), also known commonly as King's alligator lizard and el lagarto de montaña in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northwestern Mexico.
Wikipedia contributors, Madrean alligator lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:11:17.534804+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Elgaria kingii Gray, 1838
- Name authority
- Gray, 1838
- Common name
- Arizona Alligator Lizard [nobilis]
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Anguidae
- Genus
- Elgaria
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyAnguidae
- subfamilyGerrhonotinae
- genusElgaria
- speciesElgaria kingii Gray, 1838
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Elgaria. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Alligator LizardElgaria multicarinata (Blainville, 1835) | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Peninsular Alligator LizardElgaria velazquezi Grismer & Hollingsworth, 2001 | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northern Alligator LizardElgaria coerulea (Wiegmann, 1828) | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cedros Island Alligator LizardElgaria cedrosensis (Fitch, 1934) | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panamint Alligator LizardElgaria panamintina (Stebbins, 1958) | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| San Lucan Alligator LizardElgaria paucicarinata (Fitch, 1934) | AnguidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gerrhonotus multifasciatus Duméril & Bibron, 1839 Duméril & Bibron, 1839 | synonym |
| Elgaria nobilis Baird & Girard, 1852 Baird & Girard, 1852 | synonym |
| Gerrhonotus kingii ferrugineus Webb, 1962 Webb, 1962 | synonym |
| Elgaria usufa Smith, Lemos-Espinal, Chiszar & Ingrasci, 2003 Smith, Lemos-Espinal, Chiszar & Ingrasci, 2003 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Elgaria&species=kingii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:399YB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.